The Chronicles of Tekralh

The Baron Is Not Pleased!

2012-01-30T02:11:00.001Z

May 9, 1012TR

Baron Tiberius

"What do you mean 'you can't find her'?" Baron Tiberius growled at the sobbing maid, who his daughter Sabrina was trying to comfort. "Somebody must know where she has gotten to - if not my daughter or her maid, then who? Greyjoy, any magical insights?"

The wily castellan stepped out of the shadows of the great hall, slowly shaking his head. "Maud Balliol is a factious child, my lord, we knew that from day one..."

"This must be kept quiet," the baron cut in over his old friend. "Her father must not hear of this. She has been with us less than three months and we have lost her already? Wars have been fought for less and I don't fancy crossing swords with Baron Balliol and his Valyard allies with my sons still off in Delos."

There was silence in the room, except for the sobbing of the chastised maid, as the baron leant back in his chair, steepled his fingers and pondered the predicament of the missing 15-year-old.

Then he spoke: "Call Sir Gevan to me, I will send him out after her. He will be discreet. Greyjoy, go into the town and find me a new maid..."

Turning to the already tearful woman in the hall at her audible gasp, the baron tried to adopt a more conciliatory tone as he leaned towards her.

"Have no fear, my dear, you are not being replaced. I realise I was probably asking too much when I charged with caring for both my daughter and this troublesome new arrival. Sabrina has often spoken highly of you in the past, and I see she still cares strongly for, so I seek a second maid to be responsible purely for the whereabouts and well-being of Miss Balliol."

Chapter One: The Road Goes Ever On...

2012-01-26T02:31:00.000Z

Date: Morning, May 8 to 2pm, May 10.

It was the day after the May Day celebrations in Coggershall and most people were nursing back hang-overs. Konrad had gone with a random bar wench, while Jarl was presumed to have wandered off and fallen in a ditch somewhere.

Maud arrived at the Rising Sun with a spring in her step - as she had left the celebrations early with the Baron and his daughter, Sabrina - and surveyed the detritus of humanity before singling out her friends: Othwic, Alys and Hob.

Instead of helping the village to dig ditches and plough fallow fields, these youngsters had decided to pursue a rumour they had heard about treasure in a mysterious ruined castle just over the border in the land of the Malte Volk.

Maud purchased a horse from Wulfgar the blacksmith, which soon turned out to be a bit of a broken down nag, but that didn't slow the group's walk to the small village of Ducksford, half-a-day north of Coggershall.

Ducksford

They stayed there the night, as floors were offered for rest in exchange for stories. Unfortunately they didn't win any friends with their rather weak tales and as soon as they'd eaten breakfast in the morning they headed off.

Crossing the border into Baron Cenred's land they encountered an old tree adorned with offerings and this caused a minor bit of confusion - until Othwic concluded it was some kind of offering site for a nature god (although not his).

However, as they were discussing the possible meaning of the tree, Maud spotted a strange, winged cat leaping out of the long grass and taking flight. Unfortunately no-one else saw this and her descriptions became increasingly wild as she attempted to explain what she had seen.

Tifford

They were making for the Iron Door inn, at a crossroads of cart tracks, and were welcomed by innkeeper Cleere, with tasty food and pints of the local stout - Ol' Evil Eye.

Maud was quite openly mocked for her assertions about the "bat-cat", as she called it, but the others, chatting to the friendly guests in the inn, including a midget delivery-cart driver called Tifford (who brings the regular supplies of Ol' Evil Eye to The Iron Door).

Despite his habit of twitching and cussing in ways that made Maud blush, he shared tales of 'Cleere family curse' (apparently the original Iron Door had collapsed because of the fairy magic) and the origin of Ol' Evil Eye (it uses water from a nearby spring which is frequented by hideous looking creatures called Catoblepas - hideous, twisted bovine beasts whose very gaze means certain death).

Bedlo The Bard

When it came time to go to their rooms, the two woman shared one (and got a great night's sleep), while the mean shared a second. Hob was out like a light, because of the vast amount of Ol' Evil Eye he had consumed, but Othwic was disturbed by a noisy neighbour, crashing furniture, shouting and singing.

When he went to complain he was greeted by the grinning face of Bedlo the Bard - who happened to be both very drunk and totally naked.

He invited Othwic in to share some wine and the forester took a seat and began to share stories and songs with the boisterous bard right through to the crack of dawn.

While Othwic stayed in bed, Maud, Alys and Hob set off to the east to explore the ruins of the previous Iron Door (having learned that Cleere's sister had been kidnapped and replaced with a bundle of twigs and it was somehow connected with the murder of a dryad). The place was overgrown and very little remained - it having fallen down nearly a decade ago.

Maud was contemplating a divination spell, while Hob was jumping up and down in the middle of the ruins (hoping to activate some kind of trap one can only assume), when Alys spotted a rider on the horizon watching them. When he realised he had been spotted he rode off to the west.

Before the trio could decide what to do, the heaven's opened and a thunderstorm erupted, causing Maud to freak out, jump on her horse and ride back to the inn. The other two slowly trudged back through the mud, arriving at the inn as Othwic came down for breakfast.

Having secured her horse, Maud ran upstairs to her room and hid until the storm passed...

Baron's Ward Spotted Mingling With Peasants...

2012-01-18T04:30:00.000Z

Maud

The Baron's pretty, young ward, Maud Balliol has been spotted in the vicinity of The Rising Sun... and even conversing occasionally with commoners.

Thankfully, Othwic - son of the late Othwade, the highly respected Chief Forester of Darkling Wood - has usually been around to ward off the unwanted attentions of well-known local fornicator Konrad who calls himself "The Barbarian".

It is unknown why the 15-year-old Maud, the rumoured acolyte of the town mage Greyjoy, is seeking the company of such low-born fellows.

Perhaps he has tasked her with retrieving some rare herbs or other components for his magics and she is looking to hire some suitably brutish guards to escort her into the wilderness?

Things Ain't What They Used To Be...

2011-12-18T15:51:00.000Z

From 'The Record Of Our Days', by Brother Edward:

'Tis less than a year since Osric had himself proclaimed king in the absence of his brother - our beloved King Duncan The Dragonheart - and the country doesn't feel right.

There is unrest everywhere, and not purely down to Osric's tax rises or the preferential treatment he gives his fellow Valyards at court.

There are strange creatures abroad, prowling the edges of the night. Livestock and even villagers are disappearing from isolated communities. The Malte Volke are more active than they have been in decades.

Some say the very fabric of reality is unweaving itself - but then they are the crazy ones who live alone in shacks, selling tinctures and balms to the gullible.

Yet, in other quarters, treason is being spoken of openly.

Mythra The All-Father and Mother Issus protect us!

New Faces In Coggershall...

2011-12-08T01:11:00.009Z

A pair of new faces have been spotted around Coggershall these last few weeks, attracting the attention of Constable Skipwyth and the town watch.

One is a tall, surly outlander who calls himself Fane or Bane or something and apparently fancies himself heir apparent to the legendary Nightreaver, the Teklish folk hero renowned for his many victories over the Malte Volke several centuries ago.

It's thought this character comes from the borderlands in Cenred's barony, possibly one of the outlying settlements that has suffered from Malte Volke incursions.

The other arrival is a shy girl who answers to the name of Alys.

Although clearly a commoner, she speaks with a Valoise accent and carries herself as though she comes from the capitol, Kaerlud.

Both these new arrivals have been seen in, and around, The Rising Sun and in the company of known ne'er-do-wells such as Hob The Bastard, Jarl The Lame, Konrad The Barbarian and Othwic of Darkling Wood.

The Scrolls Will Be Opening Soon...

2011-11-30T19:40:00.000Z

The World Has Moved On...

2011-11-09T12:30:00.000Z

Know, Oh Prince, that with the end of the Age Of Elves, before the dawn of recorded history, the world was rent asunder and remade by the hands of a thousand Gods. It was then a new age, an Age Of Man...

What's past is prologue!

New Scrolls Discovered!

2011-09-01T12:00:00.004+01:00

New scrolls of The Chronicles Of Tekralh have been unearthed, from The Age Of Man, which means new adventures may begin as soon as January 2012!

The End... (?)

2009-11-11T12:26:00.001Z

Here ended the scrolls recording the Chronicles of Tekralh. Maybe, at some time in the future, new scrolls will be recovered detailing further adventures in this mysterious land...

Chapter 14: Red In Tooth And Claw...

2009-11-10T22:22:00.001Z

The village of Larm was abuzz with tales of the return of Red the Ranger, long thought lost to the dungeons of White Rabbit Castle. Although he could recall little of his tortures - besides a strange black figure that he couldn't name - he had somehow escaped and made his way back to the village, where he was treated as a hero and put up in the Borderlands Tavern.

Naturally, he got talking to the village's current crop of adventurers - Norfel, Foden and Yves - and their hirelings, and so when the mayor again approached them with a job offer it seemed only natural for Red to be included in the deal.

A scout for Mayor Caius had discovered what he thought was the entrance to the Halls Of The Goblin King, but with the troops away fighting the Goblin Wars, a group of brave adventurers were needed to confirm that this hill-side fortress was home to the feared Goblin King.

Norfel, Foden, Yves, Red and their henchmen approached the mountainside entrance; a vast wooden door into the side of the mountain, set in a clearing and seemingly guarded by a single kobold. Red snuck through the woods opposite the entrance and used a small fire to attract the sole guard away from his post. He then ambushed the kobold and took him back to the others, where Yves interrogated the creature and learned the secret knock to obtain entrance to the fortress.

The group used the secret knock and the door was opened by a surprised goblin who was quickly run though and the party bundled into a vast entrance chamber. The design of the place suggested it had been built by dwarves, but beyond that the party could tell little else.

Having examined some semi-animated dwarven statues for a while, heard snoring from behind one door and sounds of orcish gambling from another the party crashed in on the orcs playing flach-wrrg and engaged in a bloody battle.

Four of the orcs fell quickly, unable to get to their weapons in time, and Foden took on the leader. The two were locked in combat for some minutes before the cleric subdued the tough orc and took him prisoner. Yves was again called in to conduct the interrogation and, spying the key on the orc's belt, discovered that the passageway from this guard room led - amongst other places - to a section of prison cells.

The only prisoners being held were a greedy halfling called Meriaboc and a rabid and beaten-looking bugbear, which Norfel put out of its misery with some well-placed arrows!

Meriaboc joined the group on the promise of immediate food and further sustenance when they got back to Larm.

At this point Yves, Foden and Norfel decided they had enough proof for Caius - with Meriaboc's testimony and the confessions from their two captives (the orc boss and the kobold guard) - and just made one further stop before heading back to Larm.

They checked out a room which the orc boss had called "water", which turned out to be a large storage cave with a subterranean lake to one side. Checking some large crates down by the water, Yves disturbed a giant spider which sprang at her - but missed. Red identified it as venomous and so - as one - the party decided to "run away".

Outpacing the spider they made it back to the main entrance hall and, although Yves was still drawn towards to the sounds of snoring, it was decided now would be a good time to head back to Mayor Caius.

Slipping back out of the fortress, the group made its slow way back towards the village where they were greeted as heroes. Meriaboc planted himself in the tavern, explaining that the party would cover his tab, while the two prisoners were taken away to the barracks for questioning.

The party congratulated themselves on another job well done!

Chapter 13: Smiting Sigyfel!

2009-10-27T22:51:00.000Z

Brave adventurers Norfel the fighter, Foden the cleric and Yves the elf were approached at the Borderlands Inn in Larm by the son of Mayor Caius who explained that his father might have a job for them.

The mayor told them about a farmer who had been scared to death near the ancient tomb of cursed warlock Sigyfel and requested that our heroes recruit a band of men to sack the tomb and root out any evil that lurked within.

Having hired, and equipped, three local men-at-arms Churchill, Boggins and Erak, the adventurers hiked to the barrow where Sigyfel was said to be buried.

They camped outside before venturing down underground the next day... and almost immediately walked into a trap of scything blades, which wounded Churchill quite badly.

Their exploration continued into the darkened, subterranean corridors. The group methodically and slowly made their way down the central passageway of the tomb - hearing orcs down beyond the furthest bend.

That corridor the group blocked with broken wood and scraps they had found earlier, but then they advanced into a room of broken sarcophagi and were surprised by the sudden emergence of half-a-dozen skeletons.

However, without hesitation, the pious Foden strode forward and drove the creatures back until they shattered themselves on the far wall of their crypt in a bid to escape him.

In another corridor, where heavy velvet curtains concealed small side alcoves, Yves said off a trap by stepping into one of the alcoves and bringing the ceiling down - luckily she was nimble enough to dodge it.

Beyond that passageway though was a huge room, with three grotesque and obscene demonic statues standing vigil over an ornate, sealed sarcophagus. Tentatively the group prowled the edges of the room before Yves and Churchill had the courage to approach the stone coffin and, eventually, move its lid so they could see what was within.

As they did so, a powerful, clawed arm darted out of the sarcophagus, grabbed Churchill around the throat and smashed his head against the lid - knocking him unconscious - as a hideous ghoulish creature (the archmage Sigyfel returned from the afterlife by the dark forces he worshipped) arose.

The ghoul slashed at Yves and Foden, knocking the elf unconscious and rendering the cleric paralysed with it toxic venom.

Boggins was felled and Erak turned tail and ran, but heroic Norfel - who had considered running - having snapped his bowstring, lashed out with a lit lantern, dousing the ghoul in flaming oil. The creature screamed its hideous death wail and collapsed.

Norfel, having defeated the ghoul, slowly dragged his colleagues, two at a time, back towards their encampment and after about an hour of this activity those that had been infected by the ghoul's touch were beginning to recover, while the injured still needed some care.

The group camped outside the barrow for another couple of days before deciding to head back to Larm, where they were greeted like heroes and feted by the mayor.

After a a couple more days of rest, and having hired a couple of Churchill's friends - Devor and Caspa - the group returned to the tomb, only to find signs of activity.

They carefully ventured back inside and just as Yves was liberating a large gem and magical dagger from Sigyfel's sarcophagus, Churchill and Norfel - at the back of the party - were set upon by a pair of orcs and a shadowy humanoid. However, although the orcs wounded both of the rear guard, they were felled quickly and the cloaked man fled; Norfel tried to put an arrow in him before he disappeared from sight (out of the tomb) but missed.

Searching the rest of the tomb, the group found nothing of interest and returned to Larm.

Chapter 12: The Harder They Come...

2009-09-08T22:34:00.000+01:00

Feuding elfish cousins, Eritbanner Dreamtongue and Bardcarver Windweasle, joined with dwarvish tough guy Bostock Clevehand, to tackled the dreaded White Rabbit Castle.

The elves had been drawn there by a magical map, which led to an unknown prize in the lands beyond the castle, under the cloud of the Fist Of T'Ao. They met Bostock, a relative of the village smith, in Larm and decided to try their luck in the dungeons of the castle.

At first much seemed desserted, with signs of past battles and former occupation. They discovered interesting religious murals - which suggested their goal lasy to the south - and a small, ancient library, outside of which they held off an attack by a tribe of orcs they had disturbed earlier.

Bostock slew the leader of the orcs and his followers fled in fear. Bardcarver recovered from the orc the magical sword Wavecleaver, which had previously belonged to the 'outlander' Clodius (not that she knew this fact, of course).

Soon after they managed to avoid an entanglement with a gelantinous cube that had seeminly trapped them in a dead end, by the clever use of a 'teleporting statue' which transported them back to a part of the dungeon they had earlier explored.

Their explorations next took them back south in the dungeon, where they discovered a nest of goblins. Uncertain of what tactics to use they stormed the room and Dreamtongue brought the creatures down with a powerful sleep spell.

Bardclever declared the goblins 'vermin' and said the only thing to do was now slaughter them.

Unfortunately, having done this and just as they searching and moving the bodies, another party of goblins streamed out from a door into the room and - outnumbering our heroes two-to-one - quickly overpowered them.

The two elves fell in the first moments of combat, but then Bostock managed to hold the creatures at bay with some brave posturing and waving of the orc leader's severed head (he was a trophy hunter, but only claimed the heads of creatures he had personally slain).

Confused, and slightly shaken, the goblin began to back away - which would have allowed the dwarf to save his unconscious colleague - but then the impulsive Bostock launched an attack at one of the goblins and was last seen disappearing under a mound of angry, stabbing goblins.

Chapter 11: What A Gas... And Beetlemania!

2009-08-11T23:38:00.000+01:00

Having sojourned for a long while in the safety of the village of Larm, Sister FitzRovia, Wu Bao and Bernard decided it was time to once more venture forth to White Rabbit Castle, having been charged by the local abbot with finding an old temple to the forgotten god Thaxon believed to be somewhere within the castle.

Their expedition led them down into the rooms formerly occupied by kobolds, but these now appeared to be deserted and their hunt for clues to the location of the lost temple only unearthed a giant statue of a knight with the symbol of Thaxon (a chalice) on his shield.

The trio headed off into a long, winding tunnel and it may have taken them an hour or so to eventually find some more doors.

Without thinking, the foolhardy adventurers went through the door straight ahead, into a short corridor with another door at the end, and immediately fell victim to a cruel trap. Two collapsed from posion gas and one was struck down by a scything blade from the wall. Bernard managed to stay alive for a while, attempting to force the doors at either of the corridor - but to no avail.

Slowly the darkness embraced him and he knew no more...

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Sometime later another reckless trio of adventurers came upon the castle, via the village of Larm. A steppes woman called Irena, looking for a mystical herb associated with the forgotten god Thaxon, a gruff, zealous priest Father Melvin The Smiter and the child thief Tom.

Caution was their watchword as they explored the ground floor of the castle; Irena being slightly spooked by the strange whisperings they heard in some buildings (and despite attempts by the party to communicate with these voices, they heard no more).

Father Melvin had refused to enter the chapel to Thaxon in the castle courtyard, but Irena and Tom managed to topple over the altar before continuing on their way.

Carefully making their way along the battlements and through the inner keep, the groupd eventually found the staircase down into the underworld and began to explore.

At first they discovered very little, passing through rooms already cleared by previous adventurers (although unknown to them), until they entered a side room where a skeleton was collapsed over a locked chest. Pushing the skeleton aside Tom tried to pick the lock and was fried by some form of magical energy. Brought round by Father Melvin's healing hands, Tom watched Irena try to shatter the lock with her small club before trying to pick the locks again.

Once more the young thief was rendered unconscious by the magically trapped lock, but he had managed to pop the lock - revealing an elaborately engraved gold key, which Irena pocketed.

Father Melvin and Irena decided now was a good time to rest up (so Melvin could pray for more miracles to restore Tom to full health), but couldn't decide where to pitch camp. Deciding against the great outdoors, because of the perpetual cloud that hangs over the region, and ruling out the chapel (because of Father Melvin's aversion), they sought the old tavern in the 'village quarter' of the castle.

A derelict, gutted building, the old tavern seemed a sensible choice until they started to make camp and disturbed a frighteningly monstrous beetle from its nest. Irena and Melvin attacked the beetle, but it soon brought the Father down leaving Irena to face it alone.

The warrior from the steppes fought bravely, delivering much damage to the tough brute, but eventually she too died bleeding under the pincers of death!

Chapter 10: Green Slime Claims A Victim...

2009-06-09T22:47:00.000+01:00

Having spent a week recovering back in Larm, Sister FitzRovia, Wu Bao and Bernard decided to return to White Rabbit Castle.

However, first the priestess used her considerable charms to employ two strapping northerners - Beowulf and Churchill - to be torchbearers and muscle for the party; for the princely sum of three gold pieces a day and an extra gold piece per orc slain.

An elaborate plan was concocted to draw the orc guardians out of their gatehouse, but after Beowulf and Churchill had set light to the abandoned castle stables and stores, it became clear that there actually no orcs in the castle... at least not above ground.

The party explored the apparently abandoned castle more thoroughly, eventually making their way to the main fortress at the northern end, where they discovered a strange bedroom. Although the drapes on the walls were crumbling with age, the four-poster bed was remarkably well preserved. Unfortunately when Wu Bao tried to see if anything was hidden underneath he was flung backwards by a magical electrical force and the party decided to leave this room for the moment.

Eventually, Wu Bao led them down spiral stairs that led underground, but at the bottom the steps they discovered a makeshift barricade had been erected with the heads of Wu Bao's fallen colleagues along the top on spikes. Half-a-dozen kobolds hid behind the barricade with spears, jearing and taunting the adventurers.

After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, and lengthy discussions back on the surface, our heroes decided to storm the barricade, managing to set it alight with flaming arrows and throwing handfuls of silver pieces over the top to try and distract the kobolds. Much to everyone's surprise and amazement, the kobolds picked up the money and ran... giving time for the heroes to pull apart the barrier, light some torches and begin their fast exploration of the underworld.

The party's initial tactic was to keep heading south, through a large room of pillars and another room with a large oak table with a relief map of the area around the castle carved ornately into its surface. They heard a gaggle of goblins behind a door and decided to leave well enough alone, but then found a damp room coated in mold.

It was trying to cross this room that Beowulf the hireling fell victim to a green slime which dropped on him from the ceiling. The party pretty much freaked - with Churchill yelling: "Do something, do something!" - and considered various options for dragging the screaming, slime-coated man out. Sadly, by the time they figured that fire was only way to defeat the slime, Beowulf had been completely consumed and their victory over the creature felt rather hollow.

Sister FitzRovia swiftly doubled Churchill's salary to keep him on side and the exploration continued.

In a circular room, they encountered a giant statue of a squatting ape, wearing a fez and holding out a cup. Sister FitzRovia impulsively threw a coin in to the cup and promptly disappeared. The others thought about this for a moment, made sure everyone had a gold coin, then followed suit.

Everyone "rematerialised" in a near identical room (somewhere else in the dungeon) and as they started to map their way around they were charged by a pair of orcs.

Bernard was run through by a broadsword, before Sister FitzRovia stepped in and flattened one of the orcs, while Wu Bao engaged the other in a slightly longer melee. That orc lost confidence when his comrade fell, but as he turned to flee, Wu Bao smashed him squarely in the back with his hammer and brought the orc down.

Looking around, the still conscious members of the party realised they were actually back in the original corridor they had come down, so FitzRovia and Churchill carried Bernard back out to the surface.

It was then decided they should head back to Larm to recuperate and plan their next assault on White Rabbit Castle.

Chapter Nine: And Now The Orcs...

2009-05-19T22:26:00.000+01:00

As Red collapsed in a heap from some form of blood poisoning, Wu Bao could hear the kobold shaman outside demanding they leave the "bitches and cubs alone and get out".

The decision was made to explore deeper into the dungeon and so Wu Bao, Gregor, Clodius and Jabo the hireling left Red temporarily and checked the next room, which turned out to be a randsacked, but otherwise empty, store room. Slightly concerned about what the shaman might do to them they then opened the next door and came across a half-dozen orcs sharpening their weapons and eating scraps of food.

It was impossible to tell who first cried: "Run away!", but it was a cry soon picked up by the rest of the party as they turned tail and fled back through the kobold lair - paying no heed to the feeble cries from their ailing colleague. The shaman's pet toad spat a glob of acid which burned Gregor slightly, but that didn't slow him down as the party made for the stairwell back up into the castle.

Instead of heading back onto the battlements - the way they had come in - the party decided to forge a path through the overgrown inner courtyard, heading for the tower across from the one they had just come out of.

They soon realised they weren't alone and "something" was moving with them in the tall, dead, damp grass.

Reaching the far tower, the party found a wooden ladder up to a small doorway. Clodius and Wu Bao made it up into the tower with no problem and Jabo had almost reached the tower when the simultaneously the ladder broke beneath him and he fell badly backwards into the courtyard - snapping his neck! - and the creature in the grass attacked Gregor, pulling him down and tearing at his legs.

From the tower, Wu Bao could see that the creature in the grass was a giant weasel... and it wasn't going to let go of Gregor! The canny dwarf could also see the half-dozen orcs following their path through the grass. Suddenly Clodius swung himself down to the courtyard on a rope and charged at the orcs.

Gregor's trained badger Billy tried to forced the weasel off his master, but to no avail. Clodius charged into the oncoming orcs like a madman, cutting one down before two closed on him and one drove his sword into the fighter's guts while the other scythed a blade into his neck.

In mere moments, Wu Bao realised both his colleagues had fallen and he decided the only course of action was to flee back to the village of Larm.

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The Wu Bao who arrived in Larm was a broken dwarf, driven insane by the brutal killings of his fellow adventurers and the sudden realisation that he was alone on this alien world with no connection to the place from whence he had come.

The villagers did their best to tend to him, but he took to propping up the bar in the tavern and rambling about "hundreds of orcs" and "blood weasels".

A couple of weeks later a pair of fresh-faced fortune hunters, Sister FitzRovia and Bernard The Archer, arrived at the tavern - having been drawn to Larm by the tales of the mysterious White Rabbit Castle and the treasures rumoured to be squirrelled away in its vaults.

Their interest piqued by the ramblings of the dwarf Wu Bao - also the only person in the village who had actually been to the castle recently and survived - they coaxed him into leading them back there (with the hope of possibly retrieving Clodius' magical sword Wavecleaver).

Once in the outer courtyard, Bernard scouted up onto the battlements and spied a trio of orcs manning the inner gatehouse. He came up with a scheme for Sister FitzRovia to create a distraction, so he could get parallel with the inner gatehouse, while Wu Bao climbed another tower and pinned the orcs from a different angle.

The plan would have gone perfectly had Sister FitzRovia been more nimble in her distraction and not taken an orc crossbow bolt in the back of her leg for her troubles. The dwarf and the archer traded missiles with the embedded orcs for a good couple of minutes before the last pig-face fell and they could claim victory.

Unfortunately, FitzRovia was so badly injured, they realised their expedition would have to call it a day and head back to the village to get her patched up.

(picture from Lord Of The Green Dragons)

Chapter Eight - Trouble With Kobolds...

2009-04-21T22:55:00.000+01:00

Finding themselves in a strange, new world, Red, Clodius, Gregor and Wu Bao made their way down the grassy slope to the nearest village, Larm.

All felt slightly different from their magical journey; Gregor, in particular, felt physically changed as though his orcish heritage had receeded slightly, and his communication with his god had become more distant.

The party settled themselves in at Larm's one tavern, The Borderland, and over the next few days began finding their feet and settling in to the community.

Among the many strange things they discovered about their new world was its odd, occasional similarities to the one from whence they had come - such as the name of the country they were now in was Tekralh, where back 'home' it had been the name of the continent of their homeland.

Chatting with locals in the tavern they learned of the nearby "haunted" castle, White Rabbit Castle, which had once stood as part of Tekralh's frontline against the evil creatures that lived in the adjacent borderlands (also known as the Badlands) and beyond.

They heard how, a century ago (about fifty or sixty years before Larm was founded) the Fist Of T'Ao (the ominous, supernatural cloud that keeps the "evil lands" permanently enshrouded in darkness) had rolled forward and swept over White Rabbit Castle.

Nothing more had been heard from the castle since, but the inhabitants of Larm had plenty of rumours to spin about the influence of The Great God T'Ao and the magics that must be hidden in the cellars and dungeons of the overrun castle.

While preparing to head off and explore the castle, Red was approached by a nervous halfling, Jabo Furfoot, who offered his services as a torchbearer - and a map drawn by his grandfather. Jabo's "grandpappy" had run errands to and from the castle back in his youth and had drawn a crude map of the interior to find his way around the courtyard and its environs.

The party made their way to the castle and, at first sight, it seemed as deserted as they had been told. Not expecting to find much in these empty buildings, after initially exploring quite cautiously, they split up to try and find a way into the inner courtyard or even an entrance that would lead underground.

While alone, both Clodius and Wu Bao heard strange whispering voices; Clodius was quite freaked out and didn't really understand what was going on. Red and Jabo headed for the huge gates of the inner gatehouse, where Red thought he heard a noise or maybe someone speaking. By the time everyone else arrived he was convinced they were not alone in the castle.

A belief that proved to be correct when Wu Bao was felled by an arrow from a kobold up on the batrtlements of the inner keep.

Having pressed thesemselves to the gates for safety, Red and Gregor heroically charged out, with the intention of turning and firing (Red with his crossbow and Gregor with a sling) at the kobold... only to see ten faces and ten bows shooting arrows at them.

Both were struck by the tiny arrows, although Gregor still managed to take a kobold down with a well-aimed stone, and eventually Red suggested he head back to the original gate towers and try to make it up onto the wall, with Clodius, to assault the kobolds from that direction.

Gregor and Clodius made it through the hail of arrows to the tower, but before bursting out and attacking the kobolds from the flank, Gregor enchanted his mighty scimitar so it glowed magically.

The kobolds fled in horror at the sight and sound of the roaring, tattoed man armed with a glowing blade bursting out at them. He managed to catch up with a couple and butcher them mercilessly. He and Clodius pursued the kobolds around the walls to a far tower, then waited for their comrades to catch up.

Descending the tower, and following a very clear path left by the kobolds, they headed down into the castle cellars; their way lit by Gregor's "magic" sword. Almost immediately they stumbled into the kobold's lair and a pitch battle ensued, and was soon joined by the kobold's leader and his burly bodyguards.

Gregor was a whirlwind of death and destruction, his skin and clothes becoming increasing caked in kobold blood, guts and internal organs as he carved a swathe of death through them.

Red took on the kobold chieftain; a duel that lasted surprisingly longer than either side expected until eventually the weight of the entire party - having killed the other kobolds - forced the chieftain back into the room he had emerged from. With a final, telling blow, Red slew the leader and everyone paused to catch their breath.

At this point, Wu Bao and Jabo, bringing up the rear, pointed out the apparent kobold shaman that had come into the first room, behind them, with a large, red frog by his side.

Red and Gregor slammed the door shut behind them and everyone thought they could relax... until they realised they were now in a room with half-a-dozen angry female kobolds and half-a-dozen sobbing baby kobolds - all rather upset that their husbands, fathers, uncles and friends were dripping off of Gregor and Clodius...

[Illustration from Larm, by Brave Halfling Publishing]

Chapter Seven - Strangeness Afoot In The Trollstone Caverns...

2009-03-17T22:23:00.000Z

With Wu Bao trapped behind the stone portal and Red suddenly (magically) vanished, Clodius stepped up to answer the next riddle and managed to guess it surprisingly quickly for a fighter not gifted with the greatest of intelligence.

Behind the door, Wu Bao had been instantly charged by a great troll, intent on making a meal of the dwarf. However the brave dwarf stood his ground and was soon joined by Clodius and together (thanks to Wu Bao smashing its kneecap quite spectacularly) the troll was defeated.

However, by the time Gregor had answered his riddle and gained access to the room all he could see was Clodius standing next to a troll... and a second troll, seemingly dead, on the floor. It was also about this time that Clodius' armour gave up the ghost and fell off his body, shattering into dust on the rocky floor.

It didn't take a genius (which was lucky as there weren't any in the room) to realise that Wu Bao had been transformed into a troll, and enchanted to protect the troll's treasure horde.

A long drawn out fight/discussion ensued as the original troll came back to life and attacked the Wu Bao-troll, while Clodius and Gregor tried to resolve the situation (and steal some of the treasure... a collection of hefty golden hoops). Gregor cast magical light on the original troll's face, but was then attacked by the Wu Bao-troll when he was trying to ferret around a pile of old bones and discarded armour in the cave.

Gregor reacted with fine half-orcish pride and smacked - with the flat of his scimitar - the troll, which had recently been his dwarvish companion, into next week. However, by the time the troll hit the wall it had transformed back into Wu Bao... and Gregor had transformed into a troll!

Clodius carried the dwarf out the room (Gregor had previously found a way to open the stone portal from the inside) and left the two trolls fighting while he and Wu Bao (who soon regained consciousness) tried to figure out a solution to their dilemma.

It was only upon answering more riddles and returning to the room that Wu Bao realised the only way for Gregor to shake off the curse of being the "guardian of the treasure" was for the first troll to defeat him in combat, so he would resume the mantle of "guardian".

Gregor-troll, however, would have none of this - he wanted to guard the treasure. So Wu Bao and Clodius contrived to sneak round behind him, while he was still locked in mortal combat with the original troll, and trip him up so the original troll could batter him unconscious... thus triggering a magical return to half-orc form.

Clodius and Wu Bao hastily dragged their druidic colleague out and, once he recovered, they decided to explore more of the caverns, rather than chancing the troll room again. Gregor revealed that he had managed to load about 40 of the gold hoops into his backpack before he was transformed though, so it wasn't a total waste of time.

Nimbly evading a corridor of traps, the party came upon a cavern illuminated by a stream of sunlight from a hole in the ceiling. Possibly still punch-drunk from his encounter with the troll, Gregor wandered into the room to study the light and was promptly attacked by a host of strange bat-creatures.

He managed to magically keep about half-a-dozen at bay, but others pressed home their attack and before his colleagues could come to their senses and wade in, he was almost on his knees from blood loss as the vampiric creatures sucked out his life blood. Obviously, it didn't help when he stabbed himself in the neck trying to get one off of him.

Staggering from the cavern, Gregor healed himself with some magical berries, and the three explorers found themselves on the opposite side of a chasm they had encountered earlier.

Wu Bao was lowered into the crack in the rock, but found nothing of interest. So he climbed out the other side and secured the rope so the other two (and Billy the badger) could get across.

The corridor on the other side of the chasm took them back towards the iron door that marked the entrance to the caverns. After easily dispatching a lone orc who foolishly attacked them, the party headed out of the door into the welcoming sunlight.

Heading out of the tunnel entrance of the Trollstone Caverns, they again passed the point where a strange wave of giddy vertigo hit them. But then they realised that the view in front of them had changed (they were no longer in a woodland, but an open grass plain) and Red was walking along beside them.

Gregor looked back... and the Trollstone Caverns (and the hill they were in) had disappeared!

Something very odd had just happened to the party and they didn't feel quite themselves...

Chapter Six - The Trollstone Caverns

2009-02-10T22:34:00.000Z

Following Lemunda's map, the party - including their new recruit Wu Bao, travelled for two days along the main road before branching off into dense woodland and shrub and soon found themselves standing before the entrance of a cave.

The cave ran back into the hill for about forty feet and was then blocked by a strange iron door, with an eye carved in the top, a mouth carved in the bottom and an arm extending out of the centre, bent upwards at a right angle. Approaching the door, the party all felt a momentary giddy feeling as though they had lost their balance, but that soon past.

Reaching the door, they made out some dwarvish runes which Wu Bao read aloud. They spelt words in orcish which Gregor, the half-orc druid, translated as "This door yields to gold or force, nothing else".

Gregor, the muscles of the group, strode forward and grasped the arm in an arm-wrestling style and with some effort bent it down, causing the door to swing open. The party entered the cavern system beyond and were almost immediately met by a small band of goblins who were quickly dismissed.

Retracing the direction they imagined the goblins had come from, the group were led down a sloping corridor into a bowl-cave, filled with black water. Red bravely felt his way round the edge to the exit corridor opposite and, because of the slippery nature of the footing, suggested the others come one at time and that Gregor rope them to himself in case any fell. Wu Bao made it round safely, but Clodius had almost reached Red when he slipped under and emerging from under the water discovered he had lost his sight!

Concerned, Gregor wrapped cloth around his eyes and carried his badger, Billy, under one arm. Even led by the rope, he still lost his footing and plunged into a sink hole in the centre of the dark water - even though he had time to throw Billy to safety. Keeping his eyes closed as tighter a he could swam for the 'shore' and crawling out he found that his makeshift blindfold had miraculously worked.

Wu Bao volunteered his services as a "seeing-eye dwarf" for Clodius, who rested one hand on his shoulder as Red (now carrying Clodius' lantern) and Gregor (mapping) led the way to a T-junction in the cave system.

Heading south they discovered a stone door which swung open and revealed a large cavern... and two slavering wargs which attacked Gregor and Red. A brutal battled ensued with both the ranger and the druid taking severe bite wounds and being pulled to the ground. Red managed to dispatch his one from a prone position before rising to help Gregor defeat the other.

While the group scouted the cave, looking for other exits, Clodius began to get his sight back... and made out the blurry image of an orc charging towards him. Although Wu Bao managed to get off a wild crossbow bolt at the orc, it was Clodius that killed it with a single mighty blow.

Gregor continued his exploration of the cave until the group was disturbed by the sudden appearance of another ferocious warg; which Clodius again dispatched with a single blow. However, by this stage the group had decided enough was enough and they headed back out to the corridor where they turned right and made their way to a cave where they caught a glint of silver.

Distracted by the prospects of hundreds of nuggets of silver, Gregor and Wu Bao was surprised by the freezing breath of a giant silver snake which then slithered towards Wu Bao. Clodius, however, stepped up and smacked the snake so hard, he almost took its head right off and Red jabbed it with his spear and slew it.

Red proceeded to skin the snake while the others counted the nuggets of treasure and searched through the pile of bones the snake had been resting on. Realising there was more treasure than they could carry, the group decided to leave it where it was and come back for it later.

The adventurers then retraced their steps and headed north towards a fork in the path. Turning east they followed a path round to where a twenty foot cube blocked their path. On top of the cube sat a massive beast with the body of a lion, the head of a ram and large feathered wings. Between its paws rested an obsidian carving of a troll. The creature was very pleasant, although not one for small talk, and after answering a couple of questions explained it was the "guardian of the trollstone, which would allow access to the 'final chamber'". To get the trollstone they had to answer a riddle. One riddle per person.

The first riddle was asked. The party huddled together and conferred, then chose Wu Bao to answer. It was correct! The beast handed the stone to Wu Bao who slotted it into a hole at the front of the stone cube, which caused a secret door to swing open. Wu Bao jumped through as the door started to close.

The door slammed shut and the party realised that the trollstone was back at the beast's feet.

"Who wishes to answer my next riddle?" it asked.

To be continued...

Interlude And Aftermath...

2009-02-10T09:34:00.000Z

The town of Portown was almost razed to the ground, barring the tavern, during the great Battle Of Portown.

The once proud fishing community has now transformed into a small tented community huddled around The Green Dragon. A few families have actually taken to living in the inn at the moment.

Funeral services were held for the dead - including Lemunda - and memorials for the missing - including Feng Ying. People have started to trickle in from outlying communuties to aid with the restoration of the fishing town.

While going through Lemunda's possessions, to see what should be buried with her, Red discovered a partial fragment of a map.

It showed a section of the route west to the border town of Grosker in the neighboring kingdom of Sudland, with an interesting note pointing to an off-road site marked: BEWARE HIGH MAGIC. Next to this, in a different hand, was written HIGH MAGIC = BIG REWARD.

The treasure hunters in the group declared: "How better to remember the fallen, than to investigate this site?"

During this time of reconstruction and mourning, outsiders and drifters came through the town, either to help or hinder, and among these stragglers was a dwarvish wanderer from the Deng Fang mountains, by the name of Wu Bao, who said he was an old "drinking partner" of Feng Ying...

Chapter Five: The Battle Of Portown...

2009-01-20T22:59:00.000Z

28 Jester In the Year 3208

Hear, O Princelings, the tale of The Battle of Portown. For decades, bards will sing of the bravery of a group of adventurers (three human, one half-orc and one gnomish) who held off the combined might of a band of marauding pirates from the sea and a troop of goblin mercenaries from the land. And of the fall of one and the kidnapping of another.

Red (recently returned from his unsuccessful attempt to track the elusive mage Magoo), Gregor, Feng Ying, Clodius and Lemunda were woken from their slumber in the Green Dragon Inn by the town's alarm bell ringing - even though it was still several hours to dawn.

From his window Red espied the Sea Witch, the pirate ship of Elean Starlight, the fierce Zennish pirate queen the group had battled a couple of weeks earlier in the Tunnels, had docked at the town's small harbour and its foul crew were spilling out into the streets - pillaging and torching as they went.

Those towns folk that could fled towards the tavern, the strongest building in town. Clodius, who had been asleep in a pool of mead in the main room of the tavern went outside and climbed the stairs to meet his colleagues who were formulating plans to fight off the invaders.

Red and Gregor scrambled onto the roof of the inn to provide hassle the pirates with missile fire - Gregor slinging magically enchanted stones (and managing to take out two pirates with a single stone at one point).

Meanwhile, Feng Ying stealthily dropped down into the street and slid off to try to find a lone pirate to 'interrogate'. Bursting into a house where a pirate had just beheaded an innocent townsperson, Feng Ying stunned the foul man - but quickly realised his lack of knowledge of Zennish (the tongue of the pirates) meant he couldn't get any information.

Red spotted Elean in the middle of the pirate horde as her men headed for the tavern's front doors - on the tail of the fleeing towns folk, who just managed to get the doors locked and barred before the pirates reached them.

Red scurried to the front of the tavern and, having been shocked to also see a party of goblins coming down the track from the ruins of the old city, dropped down to tackle the pirates at the door - while Clodius, and then Lemunda, fought off the ones trying to get up the staircase to the top floor.

Gregor and Elean traded missile shots - to little effect - although Gregor was taken with the obvious magical nature of her crossbow. Then Gregor jumped down from the roof to engage her in furious hand-to-hand combat. Elean drew on her primal fury and went berserk as Feng Ying crept up behind her to try to land a fatal blow.

Elean's fury was such that although Gregor managed to strike some quite powerful blows, she appeared to be oblivious to them and her attention was focussed now on reducing the gnomish monk to a green paste...

Out the front of the tavern, as the goblins approached, the pile of dead pirates grew as Lemunda, Clodius and Red hacked, slashed and slew their through the encroaching ruffians.

But then the goblins arrived, under cover of a shower of arrows, and one managed to carve Lemunda across the stomach with a lucky blow. She fell back, fighting on, but having to hold her guts in place with one arm, as consciousness faded from her body.

She went down fighting, but by the time Clodius fought his way through the goblins to her she was dead.

Elean's mighty blows almost killed Feng Ying and had not Gregor distracted Elean, the pirate queen might have slain the gnome then and there... and in her berserk fury probably torn his body to pieces.

Just as it looked as though Gregor had got the upper hand, the pirates who had been raiding the town (rather than attacking the tavern) reached their leader and engaged Gregor in a mighty brawl, while two helped her away and another lifted Feng Ying's small body up and carried him off towards the Sea Witch.

The pirates round the front of the tavern were all dead and of the goblins few remained. The archers fled when they saw the day was lost for them while one brave goblin - empowered by a magical potion - took on Red and though he landed one mighty blow, the seasoned ranger got the better of him.

As the sun slowly rose and the flames of the burning houses took hold, Red surveyed the carnage around him.

It was impossible to say at that time how many locals had died, trapped in their homes, either from the fires or the blades of the pirates - but some had definitely been taken - including Feng Ying (probably to be sold as slaves) and Portown might never recover from the slaughter.

Chapter Four: Return To The Portown Tunnels...

2008-11-18T23:01:00.000Z

Gregor, Feng Ying, Clodius and Lemunda returned to the Portown Tunnels around mid-day on 19 Jester 3208 to further explore the catacombs under the old town on the top of the cliffs.

Having discovered a bloody patch outside a door, and a severed finger, they deduced that the room beyond could be approached from two directions at once. Feng Ying, who heard sounds of two creatures inside, and Clodius entered the room from one side while Gregor and Lemunda went in from the other.

The two-pronged attack caught the pair of feeding ghouls munching on a human arm (later, the adventurers realised it was Magoo's former bodyguard's arm) and a bloody battle ensued, which saw Gregor and Billy the Badger felled by the ghoul's poisonous touch and Lemunda nearly cleared when one of the flesh-eaters tore open her neck and caused blood to spray across the room.

The ghoul's were eventually defeated and Gregor recovered enough to staunch Lemunda's bleeding and feed her a handful of magic berries to get her back on her feet.

The explorers became more cautious after that and discovering a vast room with more stone coffins in decided to tip-toe across, ignoring the collapsed northern wall that was clearly riddled with the warrens of giant rats... or maybe something worse.

Their methodical exploration eventually led to a room where the ceiling disappeared into a tunnel of spider's webs and, despite their best attempts to be stealthy, when Feng Ying tried to dart across to a door on the eastern wall he was attacked by the biggest spider they had ever seen.

Feng Ying fled back to the party who managed to drive the spider off with missiles. Feng Ying then bolted for the door again, made it and discovered it led down a short corridor to another door through which he could hear "lots" of goblins.

Having communicated this to the party, he tried to make a run for the southern door in the room and was pinned down by the spider dropping on him again; this time injecting him with posion - despite his heroic efforts to wriggle away.

Thankfully, before the spider could wrap him up and take him away as a packed lunch, the rest of the party jumped in and battered the creature to paste.

Gregor managed to soothe Feng Ying's twitching and gibbering with some 'magical' water, but the party realised that with Feng Ying delirious and Lemunda still weakened from the vicious wound on her neck, it was probably a good idea to retreat.

They managed to pick their way out of the dungeon without further incident and headed back to the Green Dragon for more rest and recuperation.

Feng Ying recovered after a couple of hours of bed rest, but the group decided to wait another week before deciding what to do - and to give Lemunda a chance to recover.

And, hopefully, Red would have returned by then...

Interlude...

2008-11-07T15:29:00.000Z

A full (nine-day) week has passed since the adventurers returned bloodied, but victorious, from their first expedition into the Portown Tunnels.

Feng Ying spent the time in bed recuperating, healing, meditating etc

Red, accompanied by Lemunda, headed off into the surrounding countryside, looking for clues about the mysterious mage who claimed to be Zenopus.

On the fifth day, as Red and Lemunda were preparing to start heading back to Portown and The Green Dragon, they came across an isolated farmstead.

There they got chatting with the farmer who told of a ragged looking man who had stopped there several weeks earlier - matching the description of "Zenopus", but he had called himself "Magoo The Magnificent" and had entertained them with conjuring tricks in exchange for some food and a bed for the night.

The farmer had spun tales of local folklore in return as they all sat round the fire that night (including the legendary treasures lost in the Portown Tunnels under the tower of Zenopus).

Come the morning, the man was gone and the farmer found his daughter sobbing, as this Magoo had seduced her, had his way with her and then slipped away just before dawn. The farmer and his wife beg Red and Lemunda to find this wicked man and teach him a lesson.

On the first morning after their return, Clodius discovered Faith The Donkey wandering around the village green - bereft of her saddle and any equipment that had been left on her, but otherwise alive and unharmed.

The rest of week passed for him in a cloud of mead fumes, hangovers and swopping outlandish stories with the locals. For a backward fishing community they are surprisingly chatty and have opinions on pretty much everything.

Gregor used the week to commune with nature and research some new druidic enchantments. He also proved a big hit with the children of the village, who were very intrigued by his pet badger, Billy.

Feng Ying, now fully recovered, is keen to get back to the Portown Tunnels and Clodius argues that they hardly saw any treasure and there must be more down there. Gregor and Lemunda, also, are keen to return underground.

Only Red is more interested in pursuing his quarry - Magoo - and so the party agree to divide for a while so he can head inland and try to bring the wizard to justice, while the others send trinkets and baubles (and maybe a chance to bash some more heads in) in the dungeons under the ruins of Zenopus' tower.

Chapter Three: The Portown Tunnels and The Phony Fakir...

2008-10-14T22:12:00.000+01:00

Our heroes freed the young warrior-woman, Lemunda, from her bonds and started to search the dead pirates for loot when they spotted four more jolly boats heading towards the shore.

Standing in the prow of the lead boat was a fierce looking woman that the adventurers would later learn was Elean Starlight, daughter of the Queen of Zenn and mistress of the Sea Witch, the notorious pirate ship which has been operating in the waters around Portown.

Seeing they were outnumbered about three-to-one, even with Lemunda in their ranks, our heroes decided to beat a hasty retreat and headed back into the tunnels.

Clodius heard Elean speaking Zenn and presumed that the male pirates were thus slaves - an assumption that could have cost the party dearly. Clodius tried to stir the 'slaves' to revolt, but instead attracted Elean's interest - leading to a confrontation across the river that flowed through the adjoining caves.

Elean called on Gregor, as the nominated leader of the party, to hand over escaped slave Clodius and Lemunda, but after a short period of negotiations Gregor decided that "running away" was the only option and the party fled into the darkness - heading towards the base of the tower they had discovered earlier.

This tower was where they were supposed to meet Zenopus and hand back his treasure for a "finder's fee".

At the base of the tower Gregor was prepared for the giant snake and cleaved it in twain as it sprung at him. But then the party realised that Faith the donkey wouldn't be able to get up the spiral staircase, so left her and dragged the two chests of treasure they had retrieved from the beach up to an abandoned kitchen area in the tower.

Red used a crossbow bolt to secure the hatch, then the group ran up to the final level of the tower - an abandoned study - from where a ramp led down, out in to the old ruined city, to a cart that Zenopus was loading. His pet ape was already secure in the back.

Hearing of the pursuing pirates, Zenopus urged the group to take 100 gold coins for their troubles and let him get on his way to his sanctuary.

But Red began to smell a rat. Why was Zenopus so scared of the pirates if he was a mighty wizard?

Feng Ying snuck into the wagon and discovered, hidden under some cloth, the sword and belt of Teffle... who was nowhere to be seen. Zenopus claimed he was off "exploring".

As the pirates battered more heavily on the trapdoor, Zenopus tried to make his escape in the wagon - telling the party they could keep the treasure. Feng Ying jumped out the back with the belt and sword, without Zenopus seeing, but Red swung up his crossbow and put a bolt in the wizard's arm.

The injured wizard and his cart started to make their getaway and Red gave chase, dragging Feng Ying with him - with the idea that when they were close enough he would throw the gnome into the back of the cart.

But as they were running after the cart, the great ape somehow got free and bounded out of the back of the cart and barrelled into them. Red managed to deflect the charge, but instead of tossing the gnome into the cart, he swung right round and slapped Feng Ying onto the back of the ape.

Lemunda, wielding an old pirate sword, came to their aid. Red disentangled himself from the ape and continued chasing after the escaping wizard. Despite landing several good blows, Feng Ying took a severe mauling from the ape who trashed about violently, dislodging the small green man and then jumping on him before Clodius could wade in and deliver a killing blow.

Red's pursuit of the wizard ultimately proved futile - and painful as he took a couple of "magic missile" bolts to the chest - and the wizard managed to disappear out of the ruined city and into the surrounding woods.

In the meantime, Gregor had been sitting on the two chests, on the trapdoor, keeping the pirates out. The others eventually collected rocks and stones from the ruined city and piled them on the trapdoor, so they could take the treasure chests back down the hill to Portown.

Scandalous Gossip And Rumours (2)

2008-09-28T17:56:00.000+01:00

Also overheard in The Green Dragon in Portown:

"But Goodwife Noggin, if the king wants an heir that bad, surely there is some incantation that can be said over Queen Arabeth to make her with child?"

"Know you nothing, Master Tomas? Children born through magical assistance are always wrong. The white arts are good for many things, but the birthing of children remains in the hands of The Creator."

Scandalous Gossip And Rumours (1)

2008-09-19T08:27:00.000+01:00

Overheard in The Green Dragon in Portown:

"'Tis said King Ludwig of Mejia is angry that Queen Arabeth cannot give him an heir..."

"'Tis the will of Dydax!"

"Aye, but 'tis also said that there are those in court who would wish the king take a new bride!"

"A pox on them! Marriage is for life; 'tis the will of Dydax and The Creator."

"So say we all!"

Chapter Two: The Portown Tunnels And The Battle On The Beach...

2008-09-16T23:20:00.000+01:00

Back at The Green Dragon Inn in Portown, Red The Ranger awoke to discover - very amusingly - that the rest of the party had left for the dungeon without him. However, it didn't take him long to discover the trail of donkey droppings through the underground corridors that led towards his fellow adventurers.

On the way, he was met by the fighter Teffle, bodyguard of Zenopus, who asked him to pass on the message that his master had decided to take the group up on their offer of assistance.

Red found his colleagues in the next room and after much debate they decided to find out what Zenopus had to offer.

The adventurers returned to the room where they had first met the wizard and he explained that pirates were using the caves at the edge of his underground lair as their base and they had stolen some of his treasure. The 'heroes' negotiated to retrieve it for a 10 per cent cut.

Zenopus pointed them in the general direction and asked them to bring the treasure back to his tower.

Heading through the corridors, the adventurers managed to tangle with a giant snake at the bottom of Zenopus' tower, discover a raging underground river, have a scuffle with a giant crab on the banks of said river (Clodius hit it with his lantern - the groups' only light source, then Feng Ying quite spectacularly managed to flip it onto its back and crack it open before Gregor delivered the coup de grâce).

The fight with the crab alerted the pirates in the adjacent cavern, which opened out to the sea, and a major fight ensued as the two groups clashed.

Our heroes were virtually falling over themselves to get into the scrap.

Then when there was only one pirate left (guarding their two jolly boats further up the beach) Red engaged him in furious man-to-man combat - having brought him down with a thrown spear.

The two fought furiously in the bottom of one of the boats, Red losing his dagger when it got stuck in the side of the boat, but then as the pirate sat up to deliver a final blow, Clodius stepped up and cut his head from his shoulders.

The adventurers found two chests in that boat, one full of silver, the other full of electrum and gems.

In the other boat, Feng Ying discovered a beautiful young girl the pirates had taken prisoner.

To be continued...

Prelude 3: Origin Stories...Gregor

2008-09-12T22:18:00.000+01:00

Man-mountain is one way to describe Gregor! Large and imposing, hard and resolute, thunderously loud and aggressive like a storm in the mountains, quiet and gentle like the summer breeze in dense highland valleys.

Pale skinned with a crop of short red hair standing 6’8” tall and wide as an ox. Many parts of the blue-blooded behemoth are covered in blue tattoos of the nature lore he was brought up with.

Gregor hails from the colder temperate lands of Tekralh. Raised by his human grandparents after being abandoned by his mother at an early age (shamed of the unspoken union), Gregor learnt about nature’s way – its power, its cruelty and its beauty.

The clan of Cragnathic soon accepted Gregor and by his sixteenth year he had competed in the regional games at both a physical and spiritual level, champion in all.

Mentored by his paternal grandfather, high druid of Cragnathic, Gregor has undertaken a 10-year journey to explore strange new lands, seek out new lore, flora and fauna – above, on and below this world.

Accompanied by Billy, his faithful badger, Gregor optimistically sets out on a fresh adventure. Friend for life, enemy forever - just don’t piss him off!

Prelude 2: Origin Stories...Red

2008-09-03T22:48:00.000+01:00

On nights spoken only in the whispered secrets of the Druids of Norll, the Master of the Game selects those that will one day ride with The 30.

Boys, without imperfection are identified by his shadowy minions and the gifts of an acorn and a silver scale are given in trust to the parents.

He is given no name, but seven years are spent where boy and seed are nurtured in love. And on another nameless night the agents return to plant both in the wild.

In an ancient ceremony the sapling is planted in the Grove of Justice within Mound, the scales are exchanged for a sizeable pension for the family and the boy begins his arduous training.

Every game needs rules, and rules need to be enforced. It is the sacred duty of The 30 to bring justice within the great game of life. It is in the wilderness that sapling grows into mighty oak; in storm lashed mountain ranges boys become men.

By the age of 10 the boy can ride even the wildest stallion, by 12 he can use bow and spear to hunt boar, by 14 he can track and hunt the black wolf.

As he grows in stature he is taught to love, discern and administer justice in all things.

At 16 one last task befalls the boy before he can become one of The 30. He is given his name and a sacred task: he must undertake the challenge of Oak and Fire. He must depart Mound and wander the world until he fulfils a task of justice worthy of The 30.

Then, and only then, will another of the Master’s agents find him and add him to the roster. Each of The 30 can tell a tale of a great justice delivered and when a new Ranger is added to their number his story is told in the Grove of Justice where his story is joined with the others.

The 30's job entrails tracking down very powerful criminals and bandits, or patrolling the borders of Norll. They are known to ride bare back on light horses, only resting when the horses need to.

Red is a 21-year-old human male who stands 6' tall with long red hair tied behind his back. His name was the one he bore as a sapling but he asked the 'masters' if he could adopt it as his own, for no other reason that it fitted.

He looks weather beaten but his eyes and smile give some indication of the huge capacity for generosity that lies in his heart.

An optimistic young man by nature, the most obvious characteristic - other than his weathered looks - is his desire to do the right thing in all situations.

He knows his destiny is to ride with The 30 but does not talk about this, except to his closest friends. For now it may take him 10, 15, or 20 years to complete the trial of Oak and Fire, but complete it he will; proving he is worthy of his calling.

Tekralh Gazetteer: Portown

2008-08-22T15:15:00.000+01:00

Portown is a small fishing community of about 20 or 30 hovels on the south coast of Ouesterland in The Five Kingdoms. Sheltered from easterly winds by an unimposing headland, the beach-front village sits in the shadow of looming cliffs, atop which - reached by a well-worn track from Portown - sits the old graveyard and the ruins of a long-forgotten city.

Portown natives are a surly bunch and a general air of decay and dereliction hangs over the town; the one bright spot (by comparison) is The Green Dragon Inn, the only hostelry for several miles around, which offers a couple of basic rooms to anyone foolish enough to be passing through and seeking a bed for the night.

The mood of the locals has recently taken a turn for the worse as a small pirate operation seems to have started up on the other side of the headland. However, as the pirates don't bother the people of Portown (they have nothing worth stealing), the Portowners don't really bother about them.

What makes this blighted community noteworthy, beside the overpowering stench of fish which pervades its rain-lashed streets and environs, is the ruined wizards' tower on the edge of the old city on the cliff-top.

Legend has it that the tower was built bya great wizard called Zenopus a century ago, but abandoned after 50 years because of some unspeakable experiment or spell-casting that went wrong. After several years of enduring tales of hauntings and strange lights from the tower, the Portowners managed to muster enough enthusiasm to drag a giant catapult up the track to beside the graveyard and raze the tower for good.

Although this stopped stories of ghosts and goblins, it kick-started rumours of hidden passages, honeycombing the cliffs under the tower, packed with treasures and monsters. Only a few have been foolish enough to venture down the wide staircase that was exposed to the elements when the tower was destroyed and, of the handful that returned, they claim to have seen only empty corridors and chambers.

Chapter One: The Adventure Begins - The Portown Tunnels...

2008-08-19T22:59:00.000+01:00

(10 Jester In the Year 3208) 'Twas an autumn afternoon in the coastal enclave of Portown in Ouesterland of The Five Kingdoms and our adventurers - the gnomish monk Feng Ying, the human fighter Clodius (with Faith the donkey in tow) and the half-orc druid Gregor (with his pet badger, Billay) - had left the comfort of The Green Dragon Inn to venture down into the dungeons under the ruins that overlook the town.

Legend had it that the wizard Zenopus had built a mighty tower a century ago, but after 50 years it fell into ruin when he supposedly "summoned a great demon". Locals believed the site, next to Portown's graveyard and the ruins of an older town, was haunted and eventually leveled the tower with a mighty catapult.

Other brave souls have dared the subterranean corridors, but those who have returned reported only empty rooms.

Our heroes soon discovered this was not the case when Clodius awoke four animated skeletons and a vicious fight erupted, with Febg Ying taking more than his fair share of sword blows.

Disappointed to find the undead had no treasure the party next stumbled upon Zenopus himself and his bodyguard.

After hasty attempts to sell their services to the wizard, the party backed away and took a different course through the dungeon - ending up in a waste tip, where they were 'ambushed' by giant rats.

Faith the donkey bore the brunt of the rodent onslaught, even though the vermin were quickly disposed of.

To be continued...

Prelude 1: Origin Stories...Clodius/Feng Ying

2008-08-07T13:14:00.000+01:00

While his early years are a mystery, Clodius first came to The Chroniclers' notice when he was sold into slavery to the Zennans. However, before he reached the fabled island of women, he somehow managed to escape to the mainland and slowly back his way to the capitol of Mejia: Eriu.

During his travels, he managed to scavenge up some armour and acquire a donkey he named 'Faith'. On the hunt for mead in Eriu he crossed the path of gnomish aesthetic Feng Ying, who took him under his wing.

Feng Ying had come to Eriu from the dwarvish havens of The Deng Fang Mountains, where he trained as monk for many years after being handed over to the dwarves by his impoverished parents. Feng left his monestry a year ago in pursuit of his mentor, who disappeared several years earlier on a "great quest".

He is now searching for any clues to the location of his master, while following the Path of Dwarma to enlightenment.