After scouring the first level of the Frostspire, our heroes begin ascending the spiral stairs. They come across a couple other rooms during their ascension with no loot, but they do discover literature pertaining to the history of the surrounding area and it’s inhabitants. There are also books and journals that mention previous residents of the tower. When they are finished, the rogue takes the lead to scout ahead. He hears a soft mumbling at the top of the stairs. The group knows this is the top room of the tower and prepares for violence at their warlord’s command.

Oh My Goddess! – As the heroes climb up into the room, the lone figure shouts out a threat and a long battle ensues. Finnan Keen notices the adversary is a Deva and quickly glances at her desk to see what she was looking at. Creine Zephyr charges at her, while Tricepatops “Tri” goes around the room to cut her off. The wizard and ranger fire from the back of the room. When the deva is surrounded, she unleashes a burst of Holy Light that sears our heroes and throws them to the floor. Eventually, she finds a line to Titan to take out the warforged. After a good deal of damage, the party finally manages to beat her down.

As she drops to her knees, her crown falls off her head and hits the floor. The crown sends out a magical shockwave knocking everyone prone. Tears rolling down her face, the deva says, “Thank you…” as she falls to the floor dead. Nothing of worth is on her, so the party scours the room. The minotaur finds a crate of health potions and the wizard finds some decorative swords which will fetch a good price. The thief tries to pocket some gold, but is quick to share when he knows he was almost caught. They divide the gold between the three old members of the group. They also discover books and journals written by the deva. The deva is named Natalya and she found the Scorpion Crown in Aveh. The adventurers descend the tower and enter the Ice Vale once more. They can see up ahead that the dwarves are fighting the remnants of the monsters plaguing the area. Before they can help (or stand idly by), the group is assailed by Ice Warriors and a Blizzard Dragon.

Chill Out – Icicle Hurlers launch Icicle Storms at the group throughout the fight, as the Ice Raiders and Shardlings engage them in melee. The dragon bites and claws at the fighters of the group. Titan fires of his Flame Sphere at the dragon, while Tri eventually goes after one of the Hurlers. Finn and Creine team up to slay one Raider, as Ruby Swifthammer keeps throwing hammers at her foes. The blizzard dragon becomes enraged when they start harming it, so the beast unleashes a chilling aura of wind that scatters it’s attackers. Then it unleashes a devastating cold burst slowing and blinding some of the group. After all the Ice Warriors are dealt with, all attacks are directed towards the dragon. Even though it flys to and fro, the party finally slays it.

No loot is obviously found, but the orc does drink some of the melted ice once belonging to the dragon and feels refreshed. Making their way through the Dwarf Forts in the Vale and being cheered on, the adventurers trek on to Weltall. Once there, they are escorted to the throne room, where the steward pays up the last of their owed gold. Gini Godbronze then summons the party to recant their adventure and the bard-like halfling does not disappoint with his lavish tale. The warlord fills in Gini of the deva and her crown, much to the dismay of Finn. The drunkard suspects there is more to the story, but leaves it be. He proclaims his support to them and richly rewards the party from his armory. To Creine he gives his old battleaxe Cleaver; to Finn he gifts Lucky Break; to Tri he gives Skull Bracers; to Titan an Amulet of Physical Resolve; and finally to Ruby he gives Drengi. He then asks them to travel to Duran with him to meet with Bolar Bloodhammer…

Nightmares – Creine Zephyr is in a forest and about ready to fight his mentor, Offock, and his father. Finnan Keen is in chains, while Sir Samuel Heinrich and his bodyguard watch over him. Titan is in a strange place, surrounded by two shadow versions of himself. Titan becomes overwhelmed quickly, but realizes that all of this is in his head and he clears his head to find the minotaur’s ax in his chest. With the wizard down, the rogue becomes bloodied and clears his head of the illusion. He witnesses Titan bloody on the ground and Creine still swinging his ax around madly. Eventually, the warlord shakes off the powerful illusion and looks around at the damage he has done.

Recovering from their wounds from each other, the adventurers find the shifter tribe thanking them and taking them down to the center of the village. The shifters send some of their tribe to get Bombor, who still is waiting outside the forest with Ajenta Summerwind (R.I.P.)’s body. Other shifters burn the bodies of their fellow tribesmen on a large pyre. The party is invited to join them in their mourning, then they feast afterwards, and are then escorted to a tent where they can rest. They awaken the next morning and the shifters give them some treasure and magical tattoos. After this, the group travels to their next destination.

After arriving at the militaristic town of Weltall, the party shows their dwarven rings to meet with the ruler. They are taken to the barracks to rest from their travels, when the steward of Gini Godbronze tells them that his lord will not be seeing them today. Just then, two formidable soldiers walk up to the group and ask them to join them in marching into the Ice Vale. Tricepatops “Tri” and Ruby Swifthammer even have the steward give the party money to sweeten the deal. After some complaining from the warlord, the group accepts the two new allies into their small mercenary band.

Travelling to the Ice Vale, the party passes some dwarven forts and finally reaches the forward encampment. Checking their gear and clothing, the group ventures forth into the increasingly cold Ice Vale. Everyone braves the icy, cold weather quite well on this first hike. Suddenly, monsters formed of pure ice block their path.

Ice, Ice Baby – The party has a lot of trouble with this battle, since it seems the warlord is not on his game. Luckily, the orc fighter steps up and starts hacking away at the ice beasts with ease. Titan hits the creatures with his go to Magic Missles, while Finn flings shurikens across the battlefield. Ruby hits a couple times with her throwing hammers, but really nails them with her warhammer. Eventually, even the flying ice creatures are crushed.

After this skirmish, the group again fights against the elements. This time the warlord succumbs to the cold and loses some of his endurance. Rounding a bend, the adventurers come up against a large party of ice warriors.

Ice To See You – Humanoids of pure ice are littering the area. Ruby, foolishly, runs right into the center and gets swarmed. Titan fires away with his Fireball, which seems to melt the monsters quickly. Tri tries to cross a sheet of ice, but falls down hard and can’t seem to get back on his feet the rest of the fight. The warlord, rogue, and ranger miss on most of their attacks throughout the battle. After an overly long fight, the last ice warrior is broken.

The group fails to brave the cold after the fight, but come across an alcove in the rocky cliffs along their path. The party rests here and builds a fire. Finn sings a merry song and Ruby regals them in ancient battle stories. The group fills uplifted and strengthened from all this, so they move on and can see the Frostspire in the distance. Finn tries to scout ahead, but a blizzard blocks his view. The warlord leads them around the tower to the rear, where the land dives down into the ocean. Finally, the party approaches the front doors of the tower. A Sphinx flies down from above and gives the party the Sphinx’s Challenge. The party does very well and the sphinx flies away. The group enters the tower and scours the area. They find some treasure, but must now ascend the stairway…

After a restful stay at the miner’s camp, the party decides it is time to move along on their journey early in the morning. Sir Dain Ironfoot and some of his troops join them. Dain reports that Aggratosh left in the dead of night, too. Bombor packs up his belongings onto a stout pony with the body of Ajenta Summerwind (R.I.P.) in tow on a small makeshift cart. Dain gifts each hero with a silver ring inscribed with the insignia of his platoon, so all will know them as allies to the dwarf guard. With a final thanks from Glim Veinfinder and his workers, they set off.

At the crossroads, everyone makes camp for a quick breakfast and rest. A group of riders approaches and their leader gets off her horse and approaches Sir Dain. Her name is Keyleth Moonshadow and she is a half-elf, with dark skin and long, braided hair. She is also heavily equipped with shining plate armor of intricate design and a halberd as tall as the minotaur and twice as menacing looking. She says her group is heading to Moradins Shrine to quell some disturbances up there. Before they head out, the paladin notices the wrapped body of Ajenta and asks what happened. She casts Raise Dead on the body and whispers a soft prayer, but Ajenta doesn’t come back to life. Instead a soft radiant glow emanates from her body and then disappears quickly. The paladin, at first bewildered at her failure, realizes that Ajenta’s spirit didn’t wish to return and therefore cannot be raised unwillingly. So, Keyleth casts Gentle Repose instead. After this event, she leaves with her companions to the west. Sir Dain and his guard bids the group farewell also and departs southwards on the Gold Road to inform Thuriv Greatbolt what has transpired at the Mines of Vistra.
When everyone leaves, the group gets on their mounts and ride north. They ride at a steady pace with few breaks and reach the path at nightfall. Before they set up camp, they notice flames deep in the woods.

Gnoll News is Good News – Cackling in the center of town is a group of Gnolls fighting over something. The group tries to sneak up. The warlord trips over his own two hooves, almost alerting the gnolls to their presence. The wizard saves them from being found out by using his Ghost Sound to imitate a voice pleading for help in another direction. The avenger’s sharp eyes perceive a group of frightened shifter children cowering below the beasts. Feeling now is the time to strike, the rogue flings a shuriken at a gnoll. This starts the battle with the heroes able to strike first. The fight goes well at first with the group slaying the gnolls quite efficently. After the berserker gnolls are bleeding out, though, the battle starts to turn. The ferocity of the bloodied gnoll’s attack is too much for Creine and Leonitas to bear. Leonitas collapses to the ground, but Finn revives him with a song. Creine heals himself, before he too falls. Very weak and tired, the party finally slays the last gnoll. Much to the chagrin of the group, another band of gnolls challenges them. This is too much for Leonitas, who falls in battle. Creine blindly runs into a group of enemies surrounding his dear friend, Finn, and due to his rashness is also knocked out. Titan has no one to defend him, so as a bloodthristy gnoll approaches him, his magical attacks miss left and right. Finn, failing to slash at his foes a couple of times, decides to flee for his life. Realizing that he can’t just leave his allies to die, he runs to Creine and pours a health potion down his throat to revive him. Luckily Titan grasps the gnoll berserker with his magical giant hand and squeezes the life out of the filthy creature. Finn then revives Leonitas, while the warlord returns to the fight. Finally, the group fells the last gnoll and loots the bodies.

After defeating the gnolls in the camp, Swiftwind lands on Titan’s shoulder and it clearly whispers: “The Gnolls are pushing us further up the cliff. We can not hold out.“ Titan realizes the ritual ‘Animal Messenger’ must have been used on the falcon. They notice firelight from torches going up the cliff nearby. As they ascend the cliff, the group sees the ground littered with both gnoll and shifter corpses. Reaching the top, they immediately notice a robed figure. Leonitas recognizes the robe as the same one from the sewers, but the figure is much larger in build. Huddled at the edge of the cliff is the last remnants of the shifter tribe making a final stand. The mysterious robed figure creates a portal, but before stepping in it casts its gaze at the heroes and their minds are raped. They crumple to the ground in pain and black out for a split second. After they recover the robed one is gone and they are not with their comrades.

Leonitas Brutalaus (MIA) recovers firsts and jumps through the portal after the robed figure.

Creine is standing in a forest, an unarmed man lies at his feet with the mortal wound of the minotaur’s axe in his back testifying to the corpse’s cold-blooded murder. The warlord feels a strong hand clasp onto his shoulder and spins him around. Offock’s eyes gaze at him with disdain. “Is this how I trained you? Is this the honor of the battlefield I showed you those many years ago? What have you become?” Another familier voice interrupts: “Isn’t it simple, that bastard of mine finally feels the bloodlust just like his old man!” Turning around, Creine notices the dead man is gone but his mother’s corpse lies bloodied at the feet of his father whose cold eyes are now fixed upon him. The elder Zephyr draws his giant axe and moves into a battle stance. “A murderer right from birth, I shoulda killed you instead of selling you. Now it’s time to set things right. I brought you ungrateful shit into this world, it’s only right I be the one to fuckin’ end it.” Creine Zephyr now enters combat against his father and his mentor as Offock also draws his weapon.

Finn is bound in shackles on his knees in a stone-wrought room with bars on the windows and Sir Heinrich standing before him and his bodyguard in the corner staring at Finn in the shadows. The rogue starts picking the lock on his chains as the old blighter rambles on and on. “You couldn’t elude me forever, boy. Even sly foxes like yourself, eventually get snuffed out by the hounds. I could have used your talents, but your greedy fingers couldn’t keep idle, could they? Pity, pity, pity…now it’s all over. Yes, it’s time to die you filthy worm. The noose shall fit snugly even around your tiny neck.“ The lock picked at these final words, Finnan finds that his weapons are still in his possession. Sir Heinrich gasps, but composes himself and unsheathes his rapier. “En Garde!” Finnan Keen now square off against his former boss and his guard.

Titan finds himself in a mysterious temple. His vision is somewhat blurry and his head is ringing. An altar with what appears to be a magical artifact on it is about 20 ft away. As the warforged steps toward it, a shadowy figure appears before the altar. The wizard can not make out who or what it is, but it laughs an achingly familiar laugh. It speaks in a muddled voice: “No, no, no…no touching…hahaha…Terrible to come so far and die before getting what you seek. Thank you for finding it for me though…hahaha…ever the naïve one eh, Titan?” The figure is now face to face to him and he realizes that it is his own shadow materialized. It smirks at him, splits in twain, and the shadows start to channel a magical attack…

Our heroes rest at camp after clearing out the Mines of Vistra and learning of an orc army descending upon them. The party awakens and explores the camp. They need to secure the defenses and help out the dwarves for the coming battle. It is now time for a little “D-Fence”.

• Finnan Keen is the first to notice the low morale affecting the dwarves walking around. Being a talented bard, he sings a song to uplift their spirits. Also sensing the depression, Titan recalls various tales of the valor of the dwarves in times past. The wizard and rogue managed to boost the morale of the dwarves quite quickly.
• Creine Zephyr decides to inspect the lone trebuchet in camp. After a few hours, he manages to fix some of the gears to get it working properly again.
• Ajenta Summerwind notices a weakened wall on the southeast side of camp and decides to strengthen it. She patches the wall up and proceeds to the medical tents.
• Leonitas Brutalaus goes to Aggratosh and does his best to heal the huge dragon. After awhile, he cures him of his wounds. Aggratosh was now at full power to destroy Zharthos.
• Titan inspects the ballistae and fixes them in short order, oddly enough…
• Ajenta heals many people, putting more able-bodied dwarves on the front lines.
• Finnan unlocks some chests belonging to deceased dwarves, allowing them to obtain more armor and weapons.
• Leonitas and Titan help Alchemist Dunim assemble a vast quantity of alchemist’s fires to throw at the orcs.
• Both the halfling and minotaur try to help lay traps, but their advice is seen as folly by all with common sense. The shifter, with her great knowledge of nature, helps the dwarves immensely in setting up many deathly traps. Finn, noticing some dwarves setting up a trap wrong, quietly fixes it when they leave.
• Finally, Sir Dain Ironfoot calls over the warlord to discuss the battle plans. Creine is able to show off his leadership skills and impresses many with his wisdom._

After preperations, the group heads to their own large tent and gets ready for the coming battle. Soon drums are heard in the distance and dwarven horns send up an alarm. A great roar echoes through the valley as Zharthos leads his horde to the battlefield. The party exits the tent and witnesses Aggratosh fly towards the blue dragon. As they run towards the south wall, Sir Dain splits everyone up. Creine and Dain will command from the two towers overlooking the southern gate. Leonitas shall aid Dunim and his bombadiers. Ajenta shall lead the melee forces outside the camp. Finn is assigned to the ballista and archer regiment. Titan is put in charge of the only trebuchet in camp.

War is Upon You – The warlord looks over the field and even in the twilight, he can see over 150 orcs meet their demise from the traps sprawled out on the ground. Above is a storm of thunder, lightening, claws, and teeth wages between two mighty beasts. The warlord needs to command his friends in battle. He tells Ajenta to hold the line, which she does remarkably, killing over 30 orcs. Then he tells Finn to make it rain arrows down upon the uglies and the halfling is eager to please, as he drops at least 30 orcs. Leonitas is told to throw the bombs at cluster of orcs on the left side and the bombadiers rack up over 40 kills. Finally, the minotaur screams to Titan to fire the trebuchet at a large pack of orcs and the warforged aims perfectly, killing over 40.

Second Verse, Same as the First – Orcs attack the southeast wall with a battering ram, but due to the fighter’s observant eye, the strengthened wall stands tall. At this time of the battle the warlord loses his commanding presence and his allies must fend for themselves. Ajenta, surrounded, needs to take out some orcs. She fails and takes some damage. Her close dwarf allies slay her foes, but lose their concentration on the rest of the enemy. Leonitas uses his arcane prowess to make the bombs bigger upon impact, but is attacked by a stray berserker. His allies save him, yet he still nearly falls in battle. Titan has to aim his shots well, since Creine has failed to give him clear orders. He fires two successes and even saves his allies by throwing up a barrier to protect them from a barrage of arrows. Finn is ordered to shoot at Zharthos, which he does with great precision. After the shot, he fails to evade and takes some arrow damage. He does see an orc in the dark climbing the tower to slay the warlord, so he flings a lethal shuriken slaying the would-be assasin.

For Death and Glory – An orc Chieftain manages to break through the line with his bodyguards and charges straight at Ajenta. Seeing the might and fury of this charge, the warlord shouts to Leonitas and Titan to follow him to help out their shifter ally. Meanwhile, Zharthos takes offence to the arrows shot at him and swoops down at Finn. Finn fails to dodge the dragons oncoming blast, but does fire a ballista bolt into the beasts chest. This causes the blue dragon to send out a white-hot blast of lightening that the halfling is unable to endure and stuns him. This attack allows Aggratosh to fly in and bite the other dragon’s throat, slaying Zharthos. The party in combat with the orcs is quickly overwhelmed and the situation turns dire. Aggratosh does what he can, while also lending aid to the dwarves ongoing skirmishes. After awhile though, the group is all unconcious except for the wizard. The iron dragon lands and takes the brunt of the orcs damage and kills some of them. This gives the warforged the time necessary to help his fallen allies. He manages to heal Finn, Creine, and Leonitas. Sadly though, Ajenta could not hold off death for that long and she dies on the battlefield honorably. Aggratosh slays more orcs and finally the surviving heroes kill the last one.

The battle is over as the sun rises over the Silver Mountains. The orcs were annhilated, but not without sacrifice. The shifter fighter, Ajenta Summerwind, has passed on from the mortal world. Her so-called allies, Finn and Creine, waste no time picking over her corpse. Titan and Leonitas watch in stunned silence. The wizard then moves to Zharthos body and carves out a nice patch of dragonskin. He also takes a tooth from the beast. Finn finds a cryptic note and a pair of Goblin Stompers on the dead orc chieftain. Leonitas finds some Health Potions, too. The party approaches Aggratosh and talks to him. The warlord acts rudely towards the huge dragon, quite foolishly. The dragon merely growls and seems unwilling to help much after that exchange. The dwarves gather their dead to bury in the Stone, while burning the enemies bodies in large piles. Sir Dain escorts the group back to their tent and says he will awaken them before dusk to celebrate the victory. After being woke up, the heroes cheer the glorious dead and are welcomed with cheers of admiration from the surviving dwarves. A young dwarf miner, named Bombor, even swears his fealty to the group. They accept and now he is tasked with carrying the body of their fallen comrade, Ajenta, to Archwood.

Our heroes have arrived at the miner’s camp laying before the Mines of Vistra. Sir Dain Ironfoot has asked the party to help him defeat the orcs outside the camp. Going through the gate leading to the mines, the group spies the battlefield. Corpses of both dwarf and orc litter the plain, their blood turning the ground into dark reddish brown.

A Miner Problem – As soon as the party enters the fray, suicidal orcs light the bombs strapped to their bodies and dive into groups of orcs and dwarves. Half of the battlefield is blasted into oblivion. From then on the battle is a struggle for the adventurers and dwarfs. Eventually, though, they kills the last of the orcs. The group loots 5 Bone Necklaces, 3 Health Potions, 87 Gold, and 2 Alchemist’s Fires from the dead.

After the strife, Dain rallies his troops to him and asks the heroes to join him in taking back the mines. Going up to the large double doors blocking the way into the mines, the dwarf captain unpacks dozens of firebombs and has Titan blow the door to smithereens. Rushing in after the platoon of dwarves, you see the carnage of the blast. Orc guts make the ground slick, but everyone keeps their footing. Howls of rage echo through the caverns and Dain orders his troops to split and cover the mining tunnel entraces. He shouts for the party to follow him onward to another set of closed doors. He flings his last bomb at the door and charges in.

BOOM!!! – Orcs litter the cavernous hall. The party again has a tough time with the vile orcs. Finally after a long and bloody battle, the group fells the final enemy.

Searching through the storage rooms and the dead orcs, the heroes find some loot and a Flaming Sword+1. Ajenta Summerwind (R.I.P.) takes the sword. Dain then tells the group that there is one final area to clear out. A long stairway takes the party to a large cave room with an open ‘window’ leading to the coastal sea behind the Silver Mountains. As they climb the long flight of stone carved stairs, the party’s endurance is tested. Being stout and hardy adventurers, they feel no worse for the wear on their climb. Reaching the top, they find an adult Blue Dragon talking to an especially evil-looking orc. Finnan Keen hears that the dragon is talking in Common and overhears this: “The invaders are near. Slay them. I must fly south to rally the army. Tonight I shall feast on Aggratosh’s bones and then we shall have our prize.”.

Stairway to Heaven – The Orcs are first to act again. Death Mage repeatedly spews out swarms of flies weakening and maiming the adventurers. It is a tough battle with all of the heroes looking rather beaten, but eventually the tide turns and they start striking back hard. Leonitas Brutalaus (MIA), Ajenta, Creine Zephyr, and Dain swing their weapons ferociously time and time again. With Finnan and Titan flinging shurikens and magic respectively from the back lines, the melee warriors finally start to vanquish the orcs. Searching the area, they find 2 Health Potions, a Wand of Shield+2, and Guantlets of Ogre Power. The wizard takes the wand, while the fighter takes the guantlets.

After the battle, Dain leads them back down the stairs and into the first room in the Mines. Glim Veinfinder is there waiting, thanking the party, and giving them a Cloak of Resistance+2, which the warlord takes for himself. They lead you to the center of camp, where a large rock formation with a cave lies. Taking you down all the way, Glim introduces you to Aggratosh. The Iron Dragon tells the party of his old alliance with the dwarves of these mountains and how in exchange for finer gems found within the mines, the dragon would protect the dwarves. That ended two nights ago when Zharthos and his allies snuck into the mines and slaughtered the dwarves. The sneak attack also left Aggratosh nearly crippled. He now informs the group that an army of orcs shall be here by nightfall and that time is running out. What skills do you have to help fend off the coming horde?

The party awakes in the tower of Wilhelm, after promising to help the dwarves of Anvilmoor the previous night. They feel more rested than usual, thanks to their magic bedrolls. Thuriv Greatbolt and his personal guards greet the heroes and help the adventurers prepare for their journey north to the Mines of Vistra. Lord Greatbolt also tells the warforged wizard an old dwarf saying that might prove useful in gaining the trust of some dwarves. Deciding to skip the merchant quarter, the group finishes loading up their packs on their new warhorses gifted to them by Thuriv. Hitting the Gold Road northward, the party journeys for two nights with no incident. Finding the path to the west leading to the mines, the group ventures forth. After putting some miles behind them on this road, they are surprised to almost run into a rather large party of orcs coming out of the southern forest. The orcs are just as surprised to find them on the road, but regain their composure and raise their gruesome faces to the sky to howl.

CHARGE!!! – Titan has the chance to strike first, but seeing that the orcs are covered by the trees wisely chooses to hold back. On the other hand, the avenger charges up on his steed to challenge the beasts openly. Soon the orcs flow out of the woods and start their attack. Finnan Keen races to an open area out of the range of the more brutal looking orcs and starts flinging his deadly shurikens across the battlefield. The wizard now trots up to unleash a large spell that kills a few of the weakest orcs. Creine Zephyr charges forward to aid his allies, but doesn’t seem himself in this battle and ends up taking a lot of hits. The shifter dashes up with her horse to engage an orc looking to hew off the bladeling’s neck. Then the orc sergeant enters the fray and the monsters seem to rally behind him. The orcs fight relentlessly and nearly fell a couple of the heroes, while also reveling in the bloodshed and gaining health. Our heroes, though, are not outdone and quickly use their skills to effectively slaughter the orcs one at a time. Leonitas Brutalaus trades blows with an orc berserker, while the rogue and wizard attack from range. Ajenta Summerwind tries to trample through a couple orcs, but only manages to catch an axe in her pauldron. The minotaur and his allies whittle away at the orcs, eventually overcoming the lot of them.

With the long bloody strife over, Finnan quickly jumps off his horse, Victor, and loots the bodies finding only 23 gold coins. Examining a short distance into the woods that the orcs came out of, they notice massive logs that could have been used to build battering rams and such. Traveling onwards, the Silver Mountains slowly grow larger and larger. Finally cresting a hill, they can spot the miner’s camp far below. They can also see a skirmish going on between the camp and the entrance to the mines, but at this distance can not actually see who is fighting who. Riding up to the camp’s rear entrance, they notice the camp has been hastily fortified from assault. Two archer towers rise above the gate and the dwarves in them have their crossbows trained on the adventurers. A voice from behind the gate asks them who they are and where they have ridden from.

Titan responds in Dwarvish: “Ut gut drek bin baraz a Rik Wilhelm a drong urk a khazum. Ut orta ek ut samryn baraz. Sar a khazum throng bin Dwarrowdelf a gand alagh tharn.”

Which in Common basically means: “We have travelled far in promise to the Lord of Wilhelm to vanquish the enemies of the dwarves. We give you our bond. May the dwarves gather in Dwarrowdelf (the dwarves ancestral home) and find valor again.”

The dwarf behind the gate lets the party in and introduces himself as Glim Veinfinder, the foreman of the mines. He says they were routed two nights ago by a rather large army of orcs. The dwarf survivors fled to this camp and tried to fortify it as best they could. Glim keeps talking while leading them to the dwarf guard leader, Sir Dain Ironfoot. The heroes dismount and have a word with Sir Dain. He tells the group he is glad to have their help. The orcs are pressing to annihilate all the dwarfs before nightfall. Now he asks the party to join the skirmish outside the gate to quell the orcs and give the dwarves time to regroup…

The party wakes at the dawn’s first light and heads downstairs into the tavern. Bimfir Rockfoot, the proprietor of “The Firebelly”, greets them all. Then he casts a frown at Finnan Keen and accuses him of sneaking in without paying. He demands 10 gold from the halfling and nothing will change his mind. After a heated exchange, Bimfir calls for guards who are presently eating their breakfast at the inn. The guards side with Bimfir, since they’ve known him for years as always being trustworthy. Creine Zephyr sticks up for Finn until the guards say they will haul everyone to jail if they don’t pay up. Finally Finnan pays 15 gold and puts Bimfir on his ‘list’.
After the incident at the tavern, the group heads over to the marketplace. Finnan buys two new items and Titan gets a health potion. Creine’s pockets were overflowing with gold, but he didn’t see anything he liked. Meanwhile, Ajenta Summerwind and Leonitas Brutalaus had too few coins to buy anything worthwhile. While they are shopping, Merric Bolger finds them and asks again if they will break into the sewers tonight. The party heads back to “The Firebelly” and waits till dusk, when Merric comes and leads them to a back alley.
At the end of the alley, they find a large grate leading into the sewers. While Merric and Leonitas watch for patrolling guards, Titan dispels a magic barrier on the grate. After that, Finn picks the lock. The minotaur smashes a rat and squeezes the blood of the vermin onto the hinges to reduce the squeaking when him and the shifter open the heavy steel grate. Entering the grate, the party then closes it behind them. For added measure, Finn re-locks the grate and the wizard re-casts a magical barrier on it.
Going down some stairs, they come to the sewers running below the city of Wilhelm. After questioning Merric, the group still mulls over where to go for quite awhile. Finally they start through and cross some bridges. Finn comes upon a small portcullis where he sees some glowing, green ooze. Four small turtles enter it and are suddenly whisked away by what appears to be a wererat. After this bizarre happening, they proceed on and come to a large portcullis that is broken through. Ajenta questions Merric about his lost partner and he reveals that she was a goliath barbarian named Valla. The adventurers squeeze through the pried open bars. Going around some corners the party comes upon a group of strange creatures.

Poo – Finn almost walks right up to the strange beings. Surprised he throws an erractic shuriken and flees back to the group. Creine charges forth and swings his axe wildly, missing badly. Then Leonitas runs forward and gets engulfed by a green slime creature. Ajenta tries to hack at a Sludge Lasher and Titan fires away from the rear. Finn runs up and starts helping the warlord, while the avenger frees himself killing the slime in the process. Criene and Finn take care of some minions, while Ajenta and Titan battle the Sludge Lashers. The enemies go down pretty quickly in the end.

Travelling onwards, the party comes to a large drainage pipe and walk through. They come to a room with a couple pedestals, levers, and a pool full of sewage. A puzzle they must solve before they can proceed. Titan solves it almost instantaneously, allowing them to climb down the ladder and proceed through a door. After entering more sewer ducts, they notice another drainage pipe. Except this one has creatures coming out of it. Everyone but the warlord hides from sight. Four large man-shark creatures walk towards Creine and talk to him gruffly. The minotaur tries to talk the vile things into letting him pass, but the sharkmen are only looking for flesh to chomp on.

Sewer Sharks – The battle starts with Big Slammu running up to the warlord and delivering a mighty first blow. Finnan sprints out, throws a shuriken, and then darts back to the shadows. Then Streex swims down the sewage and spits at the wizard. As the others join the fray, Merric hangs back in a corner. Soon, Jab and Big Slammu bring down Leonitas. As the avenger lies unconscious, Ajenta is bloodied by Jab and Ripster. Creine heals the fighter, while the rogue heals the bladeling. Titan is almost crippled by Streex, but still fires a powerful shock spell at Jab and Ripster. As these events happen, Merric joins the fight and administers a health potion to the still wounded avenger. With the up front fighters whittling away on the brute, Big Slammu, Merric jumps on top of the beast and plunges his sword into it’s skull. No time to celebrate though as Creine falls from Jab’s trident attack. Ripster then moves up and unleashes a powerful blast, knocking out Leonitas and pushing him into the sewage. Titan then unleashes his Fire Orb, which slays Streex. The avenger and warlord are healed up and the fight continues. Ripster falls to the power of the wizard, while all the rest finally bring down Jab.

After the gruesome battle, the party is bloody and weak. Luckily Merric brought a powerful elixir, which he gives a small sip to each adventurer. The pale, silver liquid goes down their gullets with ease and refreshes them as much as a feast and bedrest. Moving on, they head to the large drain pipe and find a ladder. Climbing up and out, the party finds themselves just above the sewers in a hallway. Finding a door, the avenger turns the knob to see if it’s locked. Everyone hears a person behind the door give a surprised “Huh?”, so they don’t go in. Quietly going to a set of double doors they find it locked. Finding that they can only go in the other door, Leonitas opens it and reveals a laboratory. A robed figure questions him and then attacks with a blinding light. This mysterious figure then opens a portal, sets a monster free, and flees.

Redrum – Redrum attacks the bladeling and misses. Finn waits, while the others attack. Merric doesn’t do anything, but quakes in his boots at this terrifying monster. After clawing and poisoning a Merric, Redrum teleports and turns invisible. Unable to perceive where the aberrant creature is, the party member ready actions. When Redrum turns visible again the players strike. This scenario plays out for awhile, with the mighty warlord falling in battle and nearly succumbing to death. During the battle, Finn spies a safe in the far corner of the laboratory and greedily chooses to pillage the loot within. Finn picks the lock and finds some loot and a key. He also notices another locked chest inside the safe and has trouble picking it. As the rogue does his thing, Titan sees Merric not doing much in battle and commands him to help out his fellow halfling. Finally unlocking it, Finn runs out to fight the monster and finds Creine flat on his face. Finn cries out and sings a healing song to revive his old comrade. Then the avenger unleashes a tremendous attack of vengeance upon the monster, nearly killing it. The monster nearly crippled, finally is slain by the rogue.

After the battle, Finn finds Merric dying near the safe. He hears the other rogue’s last words, telling Finn that him and Valla were hired to steal a scroll in Thuriv’s tower by an operative of the Crimson Tide. Merric passes and Finn weeps, while the Leonitas finds bells on the monster’s hip that prove that Valla was turned into this abomination. Investigating the area, the group only comes across old journals that reveal a brilliant and yet very troubled mind.

Unlocking the double doors with the key Finn found, the party comes upon a room with 3 pillars, 1 with 4 energy rings, and a terminal. Titan and Ajenta look at the terminal and guess the password on their 1st try. Then the wizard, fighter, and rogue solve the puzzle of putting all the energy rings onto the far right pillar, while following the rules governing the movement of the rings. proceeding through a newly unlocked door, the party winds up in a cellar with a ladder and chest. Opening the chest finds the party richer and with more magic items.

Going up the ladder, they find a robed figure waiting for them. The robed stranger throws back his hood with a hearty laugh and reveals himself as a warforged sage named Book. After short introductions, he leads the group up into the dining hall to meet Thuriv Greatbolt and fill their gullets with a feast. After the satisfying meal, everyone retires to the study located at the top of the tower. Book takes Titan aside and speaks to him privately of his past. Meanwhile, Thuriv imparts some advice to the rest of the group. When the warforged are done talking privately, Thuriv and Book ask for the heroes help in eradicating the Crimson Tide threat and finding the true evil plaguing the dwarven lands. The two wizards telepathically impart images of 5 locales in the Stone Hills that are especially troubled. After this, Book creates a portal and bids farewell. Thuriv gives to them gold, potions, warhorses, and magical bedrolls to help them on their travels. The party decides to first help out the miners at the Mines of Vistra…

Ajenta Summerwind, Creine Zephyr, Finnan Keen, Leonitas, and Titan have decided to travel south to Wilhelm in search of a warforged sage. Before they leave town though, they are approached by the same merchants who brought them to Heimdal after their loss to Fear. The merchants are also going to Wilhelm and are seeking protection on the long road south. After filling the party’s purses with some gold and renting riding horses, our heroes agree to help out. The trip will last for about four days, so the group packs accordingly. The first day goes smooth, until the moon shows half her face…

A goat, wolf, cougar, and two snakes walk into a bar - Sensing danger the party dismounts and walks ahead of the caravan, when they here creatures in the night creeping towards them. In the low-light conditions, the rogue tosses a sunrod out of his hiding place to illuminate the area. Two big vipers slither and a goatman charges towards Creine Zephyr and Leonitas, while a cougar pounces on the warlord. Ajenta Summerwind sallies forth to aid her comrades, with the wizard conjuring magic at the back of the party. Meanwhile a werewolf charges at Finnan Keen, which surprises the thief even though he was the one who threw out the light from behind the rocks he was hiding behind. After the blow, Finnan stabs the creature back and turns tail luring the wolfman to his allies flank. The avenger in the meantime has his hands full and is fighting the poison in his system as best as he can; while the warlord, fighter, and wizard kill off the other deathrattle. As the battle rages on, our heroes see that the werewolf and goatfolk are regenerating, so they hammer the goatman and eventually kill him as the bladeling finally brings down the other snake. With combined fire on the cougar, it quickly falls. Left alone, the werewolf continues to fight and is eventually overwhelmed. The group finds nothing of worth on the corpses.

Resting as best they may that night, the party arises the next morning refreshed and the caravan continues south. Two days and a night pass with no conflict, until at dusk on the third day of their trip they see an orc war party far down the road.

Orcsies - Knowing that the orcs have spotted them, the group decides to stand their ground. The orcs barrel up the road and charge towards them. Waiting for the right opportunity, the minotaur unleashes hell upon the overzealous orcs in front. The fight lasts for awhile since the foes were quite a match for the party. The fighter and warlord almost fall in battle, with the rest also feeling the wrath of the orcs. Soon though, the group manages to destroy some of the weaker ones allowing for some breathing room. With a deft stroke of his battleaxe loping off an orc’s neck and batting it aside with his shield, he orders his allies around. Titan conjures a sphere of fire that ignites a foe’s backside and the halfling slices and dices. The heavy hitters press their attack on the remaining enemies and their deaths are swiftly delivered. Scouring the battlefield, the party finds 200 gold and a magical greataxe fit for the avenger: Greataxe of Oaths Fulfilled +1.

Finally reaching Wilhelm the following day, the merchants pay out the other half of their promised reward as well as a bonus gift: Luckbender’s Gloves. Asking the locals about the sage, they find out zilch so they decide to visit a nearby bar. With the halfling gaily singing and dancing for the patrons of the “Prickly Boar”, the others question the bartender about the layout of the city and it’s leader. Picking up some change that the miner patrons threw his way, Finn and Creine exit the bar. In a surprising display of rudeness, Ajenta flings a pair of gold coins at the bartender’s face. Titan and Leonitas gasp as the whole bar suddenly feels very tense. Saving the fighter from a bar room brawl, the wizard wisely intervenes and hands over some gold. With that odd scene behind them, the whole group travels to the large tower at the center of town.

The Negotiators - Approaching the tower guards who quickly try to shoo them off, the party tries to persuade them to pass. Creine gets the conversation started smoothly, with Leonitas backing him up easily. Titan blunders a bit, but Ajenta and Finn get the dialogue back in their favor. Following the rogue’s lie, the minotaur presses the issue further that they have info of a threat to their ruler. Unfortunately, the avenger and warforged get their tongues tied and the guards are not as keen in listening. The fighter tried to sweet talk them, but the halfling’s usual charm wore off and the guards told them they could not enter.

So while the guards said they would report to Thuriv Greatbolt about this threat from the Crimson Tide, they denied the party access to the tower. The rogue calmly said alright, asked for a close bar’s location, and told the guards to send any messengers there. While Finn decides to spy on the tower, the rest of the group heads to the tavern. Once at the bar, “The Firebelly”, the group sits down to a warm meal and cool ale. Not too long into the meal, a shady halfling walks up to the table and offers a proposition. The minotaur tries to shove him in a chair, but the dodgy rogue slips his grab and merely reinstates his plan to have the party get in the tower for his own benefits. After some time Finn returns and starts to charm his kin with suave talk and a calm presence. Eventually the other halfling, Merric Bolger, tells the group that they can sneak into the tower at night through the sewers. He knows this because his old partner was lost down there the last time he tried to sneak in. With this info, the party bids Merric goodnight and retires to their room in hopes of word from Thuriv…..

Ajenta Summerwind, Creine Zephyr, Finnan Keen, Leonitas, and Titan lie battered and bruised for what seems an eternity, after their lopsided bout with Fear. Each has visions of the past of how they became allies, except for the avenger who has a nightmare from yore. Wearily arising to their feet, the group discusses what to do about Despair. Coming to the conclusion of giving her unharmed back to her brother, the adventurers begin the long trek back to Heimdal.

Flies in the Web - Failure to perceive their surroundings, probably due to their weakened state, the party is ambushed by some spiders and ettercaps. The deathjump spiders leap down from some trees onto the warforged and minotaur, with the construct falling to the ground. After some blows from both sides, one of the ettercaps shoots out a sticky web that covers the ground that the heroes occupy and immobilizes them. Fighting through the webs, the bladeling is the first to escape the spider’s net and take the fight to the ettercaps. Midway into the fight, Creine shoves the halfling out of harm’s way and takes a deadly spider bite for his altruism. Before falling unconscious from the poison, the warlord splits the spider’s head in twain with his battleaxe. Repaying the warlord for his sacrifice, Finn calls upon his bardic talents and revives his old friend with a song. Titan in the meantime was stuck in the web in a melee contest with a giant spider. Unsuited for close combat and with no allies to help him, the wizard keeps blinding the creature and pulls off an amazing display of his magical prowess by grabbing a healing potion from Ajenta with his mage hand and pouring it down the recently arisen minotaur’s throat from across the battlefield. Ajenta goes toe-to-toe with an ettercap and after a grueling exchange of blows, vanquishes her foe. Leonitas concentrates on the other two ettercaps, finally burying his greataxe into the head of one. After the wizard and rogue bloody the spider, it makes a tremendous leap and flees the conflict. With all it’s allies dead or gone, the ettercap leader is beaten back by the group and at last is blasted to bug bits by Titan’s magic.

Exiting the forest and finding the Copper Road, the main road to Heimdal; the party is picked up by a caravan of merchants heading to the port town themselves. Able to sell off their loot and buy some provisions, the group listens to the merchants tales of the neighboring city of Weltall and it’s recent troubles. Finnan decides not to sell the gems he hid from his allies, as they may notice is thievery. The merchants also tell the party about “Fishermen’s Jubilee”, an annual celebration of the local fishermen’s harvest and the end of fishing in these parts. Finally in town and refreshed from the laid back journey, the heroes meander into town and find out they can join in on today’s events.

Fishermen’s Jubilee - As Creine and Ajenta participate in the Anvil & Anchors Event, Finn sneaks into Finerfin’s store to sell the gems from Voluns Dungeon. The towering minotaur wins the event, while the fighter places fifth. The next event, Last Drunk Standing, sees the avenger and warlord turn into Mo and Spew Puke(lol) and failing to beat the dwarf competitors in what they do best: Drinking vast amounts of quality, dwarven ale. None of the group participates in Glutton’s Glory, but strangely Ajenta and Leonitas enter the knife toss with Finnan. The shuriken wielding rogue easily wins first place while the avenger places fourth and the shifter finishes last. Finn and Creine recieve gold medals and ivory trophies from Captain Olim Stonebeard, with the warlord telling the mayor that they need to talk to him later.

While he watches his allies compete, a robed figure bumps into Titan whispering to follow. The wizard obeys and is shocked when the stranger reveals herself as a warforged, Crimson Tide follower. Her name is Dagger and she is Fear’s contact in Heimdal, so she fills Titan in on where to take Despair and where. Also she tells Titan that gold and info on retrieving his lost memories will be given to him, if they do as Fear has commanded. Visiting Olim’s house at dusk, the party tells him the reasons for their return. At first not liking handing over his prisoner, Olim finally concedes and frees her himself. Taking her to the docks at night, the party hands her over to Dagger and true to her word gives the group the location of 500 gold as well as info about Titan’s search for his past. Now the heroes may choose on where to go next: Archwood, Weltall, Wilhelm, or other adventurous places…

As the party rests in the ancient guardroom, a knock is heard on the other side of the well fortified door. It is Ajenta Summerwind, who wishes to join the heroes again. After many surly and critical words from Creine Zephyr and Finnan Keen, they finally reunite with their fighter. Ajenta tells the party in a somewhat gruff tone that she was contacted by her falcon, Swiftwind, who let her know that her village was in peril. The shifter’s village, Archwood, was besieged by gnolls that appeared quite tactical leading many villagers to believe that someone is controlling the foul savages in the shadows. Ajenta helped her people defeat the gnolls with few casualties and then proceeded to Voluns Dungeon once more.

Finally moving on, the group peeks through the last door of this level and find more stairs leading down. Going down and finding another door at the bottom, the party stealthily peers in and finds a couple of statues. While passing the stone dwarven figures with hands on their weapons, the group ventures through a door into a small hallway. At the end of the hall an arch with dwarvish runes stands before the adventurers, which they pass under entering a bedroom. Inside they find the usual bedroom furniture and belongings in pristine condition, as well as sadistic torture devices. Searching everywhere the party finds a couple magic items and a secret door locked by a magic key. When the group loots all they can (with Finnan Keen swiping a few items which no one else perceives), they walk under the arch again which makes a little noise.

Watchmen - Now on full alert and feeling the statues have come to life, the brash fighter runs straight into the middle of the room. As her allies funnel in behind her, Ajenta Summerwind is attacked by two of the stone guardians. Another statue attempts to beat down the wizard, while the fourth statue is in turn besieged by the avenger and warlord and quickly beaten down. With help from his friends, Titan is able to escape the chaotic melee and fire away with his powers at a distance. The fighter and warlord are repeatedly knocked prone, but with the rogue flitting in and out of arms reach and Leonitas wielding his greataxe sublimely the statues are quickly turned to rubble.

After the battle the heroes turn to another closed door proceed through cautiously. In the dim light they can see more torture devices along the walls, two huge grates, and a large fleshy lump in the middle of the huge room. Walking forth, the party is swarmed by evil spirits that seal the door behind them and magically lighting blue flames along the walls. As the spirits enter the lump on the floor, it begins to take shape and groan.

Volun’s Pet - Even with terror creeping into their minds, the adventurers draw their weapons and assault the abomination. Swinging wildly with it’s massive arms and tentacles, the undead behemoth pulls in the melee combatants and tries to squeeze them to death. Challenging the monstrosity, the shifter draws the ire of the abomination and is repeatedly attacked by it. Creine Zephyr grudgingly heals her, while the rest of the party unleashes hell upon the behemoth. Finally the avenger fells the monstrosity, but they are shocked to see it arise again. With keen ears and eyes, the warlord discerns that the undead beast is half its former self. So with Ajenta Summerwind being the humanoid shield of the group, her allies blast the monster into oblivion.

Searching the lumpy mass, Leonitas finds the magical key for the secret door in Volun’s ancient room. Unlocking the door and proceeding into a narrow, rough passage the group eventually comes to a vast chamber. Titan uses his wizard light to illuminate the naturally formed cavern. At the back of it is an altar and a large, obsidian orb. They approach the sphere and are consumed by dread. Every instinct they have fears this object or at least what it represents. Examining it, Finnan Keen sees that it is perfectly round and seems to be made of an oily black residue. Creine Zephyr throws a stone at it to judge its durability and finds that the orb is quite solid. Leonitas forces himself to touch it and recoils in agony. Madness fills his head for a mere moment, but his will suffers from the contact. Ajenta Summerwind scans the altar and finds an odd-shaped object lying on it. The party decides this is the artifact that Harbek was after, so their warlord takes it upon himself to put it in his rucksack. Upon touching the thing, the minotaur is assailed by chaotic voices tinged with lunacy. Shaking off the mad gibbering, the warlord leads his allies out of the dungeon.

Fear - Exiting the dungeon, the adventurers are ambushed by Fear and his bodyguards. Fear demands that Creine hand over the artifact, but the stubborn minotaur refuses. After inspecting Fear’s followers, Finn and Ajenta feel that a fight would not end well for them and their allies. Titan, Leonitas, and Creine however, are not willing to back down so easily. A conflict ensues with Fear, and only Fear, assaulting the heroes. The tiefling unleashes a massive burst of terror that cripples all but the avenger. As his friends fall unconscious, the confident (some may say “cocky”) bladeling shouts a challenge at the tiefling. Fear casually walks up to the weakened avenger and strikes him down with his Dreadblade.

As the party lies beaten and bloody, Fear gives this command: Free his sister Despair from Heimdal’s jail. If they do not then Fear and his soldiers will burn the town to the ground and free her anyways. As one of Fear’s men takes the artifact from Creine’s pack, Fear leaves them with a choice of how to proceed…