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Waterday, Richfest 5th, 595 CY

The party finds Arakk at the tavern where they first met. Lia fails to detect evil from Arakk. All go to Arakk’s room & show him Fiend’s Embrace. The party bids farewell to Krudin, & Arakk teleports Lia, Rune, Preh, and Theodred to a hillside overlooking Greyhawk. Arakk pays the party for their service, takes Fiend’s Embrace, & teleports away.

Godsday, Richfest 4th, 595 CY

The party reachs Eru-Tovar about noon & take a room at an inn different than the one where they met Arakk. Rune, under alter self, purchases wine & a pearl at the market, & he and Krudin unload as much of their non-magical loot as they can. They return to the inn with the wine and pearl & Theodred casts identify on Fiend’s Embrace, and they learn a little more about the cloak. The loot is split & Krudin goes to local temple of Geshtai for a restoration spell.

Sunday, Richfest 2nd, 595 CY

The party suffers through the Choking Fog of the Cold Marshes to reach Zarlag’s hut, where they camp for the night.

Starday, Richfest 1st, 595 CY

Lia cures the rest of Theodred’s Strength damage before breaking camp. Later that day, they slay two ice toads, one of which nearly eats Theodred.

Freeday, Wealsun 28th, 595 CY

The party survives the Mist of Undeath and destroys 4 shadows, but Theodred suffers severe Strength damage. That evening, while setting up camp, they are attacked by & slay a spawn of Kyuss. After praying that night, Lia cures some of Theodred’s Strength damage. & Rune’s Gift of Kyuss disease.

Earthday, Wealsun 27th 595 CY

On the final watch early that morning, Theodred tries on Fiend’s Embrace & is chastised by the others when they find out. The four break camp at dawn and continue traveling, via mount spells cast by Theodred. They are attacked by & slay 4 quaggoths. After praying that night, Lia casts detect evil on the cloak & chastises Theodred even more.

Session 20, 3/6/2022, Jason out, Preh played by Jake.

Dramatis Personae:

Setting: The Cold Marshes, several miles south of Cold Stones Keep.

Waterday, Wealsun 26th, 595 CY

Lia, Preh, Rune, Theodred, & Krudin reach Slurrozh’s hovel & find Baklunag’s animated corpse chopping wood; they learn she killed him after he attacked her & turned him into a zombie. They camp for the night at the base of her tree.

Waterday, Wealsun 26th, 595 CY

The party resumes their journey amid blackfrost, but are protected thanks to Lia’s endure elements spells. Later that day, they slay a troll.

Session 19, 2/20/2022, All players present.

Dramatis Personae:

Setting: Cold Stones Keep in the Cold Marshes, 100 miles north of the Wolf Nomad capitol of Eru-Tovar.

Godsday, Wealsun 25th, 595 CY

Lia, Preh, Rune, Theodred, & Krudin continue exploring Cold Stones Keep. Under the protection of endure elements potions and spells, the five return to the courtyard where the boat of the Fingers of Iuz is moored, and are attacked by another scrag, which they slay by beating it into unconsciousness and letting it suffocate, as scrags cannot breathe air. The party descends into the keep’s lower level & slay a female scrag. They then slay Shplizzmak, the scrag leader, who wears []Fiend’s Embrace[/i]. The party takes the cloak & loots scrag’s lair (Rune uses alter self to turn into a merman). Among the treasure, they find a cloak of resistance, which Lia claims. They return to surface & find the Fingers’ boat missing; They return to the room where they defeated the Iuzians and find Baklunag missing among the corpses of his fellow Fingers. They then go to room where they’d camped the night before & find their fur clothing & Rune & Krudin’s backpacks missing as well. They leave the keep & head south, hoping to catch Baklunag at Slurrozh’s hut in the next day or two. They camp about 12 miles south of the keep.

Godsday, Wealsun 25th, 595 CY

That morning, Lia casts remove disease on Preh. The party slays a vine horror in the southeast tower, and Preh finds a magic rapier in its lair. Several barrels of warped and rotting arrows are found in the flooded southwest tower. The party explores the keep’s upper level, finding the Fingers of Iuz campsite. While exploring a room at Lia’s request, Krudin falls through the floor to the next level. Preh and Rune nearly fall from the keep’s collapsing balcony. The party prepares to enter the keep’s lower level.

Session 18, 2/6/2022, Fiend's Embrace, part 3. All players present.

Dramatis Personae:

Setting: Cold Stones Keep in the Cold Marshes, 100 miles north of the Wolf Nomad capitol of Eru-Tovar.

Moonday, Wealsun 24th, 595 CY

Lia, Preh, Rune, Theodred, & Krudin continue exploring Cold Stones Keep. They use a crowbar to pry open a door to the flooded lower level, but leave it for later. Preh triggers a collapsing floor while trying to make safe passage, then triggers a collapsing ceiling which damages himself and Lia. They loot a half-eaten dead gnoll stuck in a window, finding a fine chain shirt and longsword. Theodred destroys a patch of green slime with burning hands. In the partially-flooded bailey, Preh gets badly bitten by a swarm of rats; the party disperses the swarm, then are ambushed by and slay a scrag, upon which Lia finds a pearl necklace containing a pearl of power. Lia diagnoses Preh as having contracted filth fever from the rats. The party discovers a well in the bailey leaking from its inner wall; Preh is lowered by ropes and uses a crowbar to remove debris blocking the hole, draining much water from the lower level. The party finds a defensible room and camps for the night.

Wealsun 24th, 595 CY
The five reach the ruins of Cold Stones Keep, and circle to the back of the structure, where they fight and slay several stirges. They soon discover the boat of the rival party. Theodred turns Preh invisible and he spies on the group, noting the skull tattoos each bears on their foreheads

Fingers of Iuz: Matyara, human female priestess of Iuz; Baklunag, male human necromancer & Morlak, his bat familiar; Grinag, male half-orc fighter; Roon, male gnome bard; Spike, male human bowman; and Valen, male human ranger/rogue).

Preh overhears them talking about the cloak and reports back to his allies, but he steps in green slime and his boot gets eaten. Rune announces himself and tries parlaying with the other party, noting that they are accompanied by two undead wolves. A fight eventually breaks out.

At the end of the fight, Preh and Theodred are down, Rune has slain two, Lia and Krudin have destroyed the wolf skeletons, and the other Fingers are left bleeding out. Preh and Theodred are revived and much looting ensues. Among their items, Preh takes Roon’s handy haversack, Rune takes Grinag’s composite longbow and Matyara’s magical greatsword (passing on his masterwork greatsword to Krudin), Lia takes Spike’s magical chain shirt, and Krudin takes Grinag’s magical chain shirt.

Wealsun 20th—23rd

The Lia, Preh, Rune, Theodred, and Krudin leave Slurrozh’s hut, and continue their journey through the Cold Marshes.

Wealsun 19th, 595 CY

The party reaches the potion maker’s hovel and pay the crone Slurrozh (female human cleric) for information and potions of endure elements. They learn from her another group bought potions the day before and were heading to Cold Stones Keep. They camp for the night under the tree in which her hovel is perched.

Session 17, 1/23/2022. All players present.

Dramatis Personae:

Setting: The Cold Marshes, on their way to Cold Stones Keep.

Wealsun 15th-18th, 595 CY

Lia, Preh, Rune, Theodred, & Krudin continue their journey through the Cold Marshes. They experience icy cold blackfrost on the first day, destroy four skeletons on the 17th, and everyone (especially Preh) suffers the blood drain of vampiric mist on the 18th.

Wealsun 14th, 595 CY
Lia, Preh, Rune, Theodred, and Krudin are attacked in the the heavy fog by a band of 5 gnolls, which they slay.

Wealsun 12th, 595 CY

Lia, Preh, Rune, Theodred, and Krudin leave Zarlag's hut.

Wealsun 11th, 595

The party reaches the hut of the deceased sage Zarlag and meet the 7’ tall barbarian occupant Krudin, who invites them in for dinner. Soon, however, under the curse of his magical greatsword, Krudin attacks Theodred. Luckily, the barbarian misses, and the mage puts him to sleep with a spell. Determining Krudin’s under a curse, Lia uses a remove curse potion (found last year in Radeem’s stronghold) on him. Krudin thanks party when he awakes, offers to guide them to Cold Stones Keep.

Wealsun 8th, 595 CY

Lia, Preh, Rune, and Theodred leave Eru-Tovar and enter the Cold Marshes once more.

The four enter the nearest place that looks like a tavern and approach the bar. They quickly find communication difficult with the barkeep, but a richly dressed man with long braids intercedes and invites them to join him for dinner at his table. He introduces himself as Arakk, and tells the party that he recognized them immediately as foreigners. The four soon learn that they have stumbled into the Wolf Nomad capital of Eru-Tovar, about 1000 miles from Greyhawk! Arakk surmises that the four must have recently journeyed from the Cold Marshes, given the grime on their clothing, and that they must have been ignorant of the swamps dangers, given their lack of winter clothing. Rune confirms Arakk’s suspicions, spinning a tale that they entered a magic portal while adventuring in Castle Greyhawk, which deposited them randomly in the swamp, with no way to return home.

Arakk explains that he came to Eru-Tovar on behalf of Perrenland’s national museum in Schwartzenbruin, to acquire an artifact believed to lie at an old keep in the Cold Marshes. He first became aware of the artifact when he purchased an antique desk from the estate of a recently-deceased wizard named Zarlag. While restoring the desk, he stumbled upon a hidden drawer that contained a number of notes and a map fragment. Unable to decipher the encoded notes, Arakk took them to a sage named Yelarial and paid him to translate them. The notes turned out to be excerpts and observations on the Demonomicon, a fantastically rare text concerned with fiends of the lower planes and rumored to have been penned by none other than the Witch Queen of Perrenland, lggwilv. Arakk tells them that Iggwilv conquered Perrenland over a century ago, and ruled for about a decade before being betrayed by her lover, the demon lord Graz’zt. In happier times, Graz’zt had given Iggwilv a potent magic cloak crafted from a pit fiend’s hide. Zarlag’s notes indicated that this cloak, named Fiend's Embrace, might be hidden in a place called Cold Stones Keep. The map that went along with the notes showed the location of this mysterious keep- it lay hidden deep in the Cold Marshes. Arakk proposes that the party retrieve Fiend’s Embrace, and in return he will help them get home more quickly and pay them 2500 gold marks. The party agrees and spends the rest of the day purchasing supplies for their foray into the marshes, including winter clothing.

Campaign continues at Bastard Greyhawk: Fiend's Embrace

Continued from Bastard Greyhawk: Secrets of the Towers, part 1:

Session 16, 1/9/2022, cont'd. All players present.

Dramatis Personae:

Theodred, Neutral Good male gray elf wizard 4 of Celene (Mike). Age 130 (22 in human years). Long silver hair, blue eyes, pale skin. 5'8", 130 lbs. Foppish clothes, longsword, longbow.

Freeday, Wealsun 7th, 595 CY, afternoon

The stream eventually leads to a trail, then a dusty road. The party follow it east until they arrive in the late afternoon at a strange frontier town, filled with swarthy humans who speak an unfamiliar tongue. The elves find themselves subjected to several curious stares.

Exiting the tower, the party finds themselves in a very cold, marshy swamp.

“Well, Theo,” says Preh, turning to the mage, “I’ve a feeling we’re not in Greyhawk anymore.”

“Very astute, thief,” snarls the wizard.

“Hey, at least we’re not in the middle of a frost folk village,” retorts Preh.

“We’d best start moving while it’s still light,” says Rune.

“Which way, though?” asks Theodred.

“South is probably our best bet,” says the barbarian.

After a quick gear-check, the party leaves the tower. They soon find a flowing stream and begin following it. After about an hour, they find a wolf corpse, completely drained of blood.

“What could do this?” asks Lia.

“A vampire, probably,” says Theo. “Maybe even a wolf vampire.”

“Or a were-leech!” adds Preh.

“Even if it was,” growls Rune, “we should keep moving. Undead and lycanthropes are most active at nighttime, and we’re burning daylight!”

After a few hours, the stream leads them out of the marsh, and to a vast, grassy plain.

“Thank Pelor!” exclaims Preh. It’s actually warm outside that damnable swamp!”

“This makes me think that cold is not natural,” muses Rune. “I suspect foul sorcery is at play.”

“Based on their gear and the state of the premises,” says Rune, “I’d wager this tower isn’t a permanent residence—the frostfolk likely use it as a sort of hunting lodge.”

“What’s that bearlike creature,” asks Lia.

“Not sure,” says Rune. “It’s nothing like I’ve seen or heard of in Rhizia.”

“I’ve read of such beasts,” says Theodred. “I think it’s a quaggoth—bear-like humanoids used as slaves by the drow, though free tribes are found in some of the more savage forests of northern Flanaess, near Blackmoor and the Icy Sea.”

“Y’know, I think there used to be one in a freakshow in Diamond Lake,” says Preh, “three days east of Greyhawk.”

“I have a feeling we’re a long way from Greyhawk,” says Lia. “and I doubt this tower’s in the underdark, so if Theo’s right, we’re probably somewhere in the Bitter North.”

“Well, the best way to find out is through that door,” says Rune.

Moving down to the next level, the party sees a grisly sight—the hides of several creatures on tanning racks— a wolf, three dire rats, two gnolls, and a large, bearlike humanoid with dirty white fur. Several tools are littered about the area, mostly made of bone, stone, or flint. The floor’s flagstones have been removed in one corner, and a leather-lined pit there contains copious amounts of urine. A barred, heavy door of bronzewood sits in one of the walls.

“Ugh,” sniffs Theodred. “Why wouldn’t they just piss outside?”

“Possibly to avoid the gnolls and other creatures,” notes Lia. “That, and they use urine in the tanning process.”

“Dung, too,” notes Rune. “Or animal brains.”

“I’m never wearing leather again,” whispers the mage.

Their bows seem to be of good quality,” notes Rune. “I think I’ll keep one for myself, and we can sell the other at some point. Their flint axes and daggers aren’t worth hauling about—we should just leave them, albeit out of their reach.”

“So, these guys are immune to cold?” asks Preh, binding the wrists of one of their attackers.

“Yes,” says Rune. “They have no need for fire, and thus eat their meat raw. Never having developed fire also means they also never developed metal-working—ergo their flint weapons and hide shields.”

“Guess that explains the frozen raw meat in these backpacks,” says Theodred.

“What are these things? Asks Preh, catching his breath.

“I’ve never encountered their like before,” says Rune, “but I believe these are frost folk, also called ‘ice demons’ by the folk of the northern realms.”

“These are demons?” asks Lia.

“No, not literaly,” replies the barbarian. “It’s said they were once humans, who struck a bargain with a dark power of ice and snow—some think an archdevil, perhaps.”

“So, we should make sure they don’t get up,” Preh nods, drawing his dagger.

“Well, we did invade their home,” cautions Lia, raising a hand. “Why don’t we just tie them up and take their weapons.”

“True,” says Rune. “if this tower happens to be in the midst of a frost folk village, a trespasser’s chances might be better if they haven’t killed any of the natives.”

“Agreed,” says the priestess, setting about binding the wounds of the frostmen while the others secure their weapons and search the premises.

Desending the stairs, they find what appears to be a living/dining area. Suddenly two fur-clad male humanoids with stark-white skin emerge from behind the primitive furnishings and unleash arrows at the party, before dropping their bows, drawing flint battleaxes and hoisting hide shields.

“Unlikely to be occupied, you said?” Lia shouts to Rune.

“That’s why I said ‘unlikely,’ not ‘impossible,’” retorts the barbarian.

Preh moves to find cover and loads his crossbow, while Lia wounds one of the creatures, which steps back and strikes her with a ray of intense cold from its eye. Rune moves to engage the other, which strikes the barbarian with its own eye-ray before Rune strikes a mighty blow with his greatsword. Theodred, meanwhile, attempting to hold his spells in reserve, nocks an arrow and aims, but his bowstring breaks.

“Dammit!” exclaims the mage.

“You should probably try spells next time!” chides Lia.

Preh hits the severely-wounded humanoid fighting Rune with a crossbow bolt. Nearly spent, the creature launches a final, failed assault on the barbarian before succumbing to his wounds. Rune then moves to assist Lia with the second humanoid, while Theodred hits the creature with an acid splash spell, wounding their foe slightly. The creature proves to be a better fighter than his compatriot, blocking Lia’s blade and Preh’s bolts while wounding Rune. Rune steps back and attempts a sleep spell, which the creature resists. Theodred’s daze spell buys the party some respite, allowing Preh and Rune to wound the humanoid before it resumes its attacks. However, its flint-headed axe breaks upon Lia’s shield, and the party finally downs their foe.

Rune and Preh arrive in a dark room, immediately noticing a steep drop in temperature.

“Godsdammit,” exclaims Preh. “It’s freaking cold in here!”

“Reminds me of home,” replies the Frost Barbarian.

The young rogue pulls out his Ioun torch, illuminating a room similar to the one they just left, only more lived in, with a pile of furs against one wall and a stone staircase leading down into darkness. At that moment, Lia and Theodred arrive.

“S$#@!” says Theodred. “It’s colder than a frost giant’s balls!”

“And you would know this, how?” inquires Lia.

“It’s just an expression,” the wizard replies, shivering.

“Where do you think we are, guys?” asks the priestess.

“Another tower, obviously,” says Theodred. “Five walls, just like the other one—except that none of these walls are glowing in the presence of the key.”

“Great,” sighs Lia, putting the key back in her haversack. “Guess you were right about this being a one-way trip.”

“I didn’t know for sure—I just knew it was a possibility.”

“You think maybe this second tower is in your native land, Rune?” asks Preh.

“Possibly,” replies the barbarian. “But it’s usually not this cold in Rhizia at this time of year—except for high in the mountains.”

“That looks like someone’s bed over there,” says Lia, pointing to the pile of furs. “It could be that this tower is occupied.”

“Unlikely,” says Rune, examining the pile. “These hides are treated and tanned—mainly a humanoid endeavor. If there were any humanoids below, we’d smell the smoke of their cook-fires, and thus it likely wouldn’t be so cold in here.”

“Sound reasoning, skald,” says Theodred. “Unless the inhabitants met an unfortunate end and arose as undead.”

“Then I guess we should probably be more quiet when we go downstairs,” whispers Preh.

The others agree, and head back outside. Over a hearty meal, they inform Willem of their intentions, telling him to go back to Greyhawk if they don’t return in more than a few days. Saying their goodbyes, Lia, Preh, Rune, and Theodred make their way back to the top floor. Given that the walls cease to glow when the key is placed in the interdimensional space of Lia’s haversack, they agree the person with the key should enter last. Picking a portal, they enter two at a time—Preh and Rune first, then Lia and Theodred.

As the priestess pulls the symbol-covered pentagonal bar from her handy haversack, five-foot sections in two of the walls start glowing with a bluish radiance.

“Whoa!” exclaims Preh. “I think we’re definitely in the right place.”

The group spends several minutes experimenting. The glow changes in intensity the closer the pentagonal key is to the wall, and coins can be throwing through, but when one end of a rope is passed through, they find it cannot be pulled back, appearing to remain stuck in the glow.

“These show all the signs of being magical portals,” observes Theodred, “but both choices appear to be one-way trips. And before you ask, no, I don’t have any way of telling what’s on the other side.”

“Well, they say ‘fortune favors the bold’ for a reason,” notes Rune.

“If we’re really going to through with this,” cautions Lia, “we should probably let Willem know first.”

“Hmmm. Silver sheridans, gold wheatsheaves, and a smattering of platinum paladins,” observes Preh. “These are Furyondian coins—all from the third century.”

“Sounds like your guess as the the age of the corpses was spot-on, Lia,” says Rune.

“That chain looks like those typically worn by members of various orders of knighthood,” notes Theodred. “Makes me wonder if those chests—or at least their contents—were stolen.”

“You think this was a thieves’ hideout after the gnomes left?” asks Lia.

“Taking over an abandoned building and lining it with traps wouldn’t be out of character for a band of thieves,” notes Preh.

“So, what now?” asks Rune. “We certainly seem to be in the right place, but I haven’t seen anything that the pentagonal key we fund in Radeem’s stronghold would fit, or any more symbols like the one we saw above the door.”

“Hold on,” says Lia. “Let me get it from my pack.”

The floor above appears to be the top level, with an arched stone celing, 20’ high at its peak. The floor is in good shape, and the room is empty, save for five chests, one against each wall. Most of the chests they find to be empty and unlocked. Some are trapped, but Preh is able to safely disable or tigger them. One of the “empty” chests is found to have a false bottom, inside which is found a silver chain. Another contains several coins.

Continuing to the next level, the party finds a badly-burned kitchen area. As the floor looks incredibly unstable, they opt to continue up the stone staircase. The floor above appears just as damaged as the one below, and appears to have once been a barracks, with gnome-sized remains of broken cots and rotting mattreses. While there aren’t any stairs, the party does notice a trapdoor in the ceiling. Preh finds the door to be trapped, but manages to trigger it safely, staying out of the path of the heavy rocks which tumble down when the door is opened, crashing through the unstable floor below.

Moving up to the next level, the party finds the remains of rotting and broken furniture.

“Looks like this was a living area,” says Lia. “This furniture is sized for the smallfolk. You think those soldiers could have wiped them out?”

“Possibly,” says Rune, “but since we’ve yet to see any gnome corpses, it’s just as likely that these soldiers came long after the mine played out and the gnomes left.”

“Looks like the door was broken down,” says the rogue. “Based on that, and the soot, I’m guessing someone laid siege to this place. And this guy,” he says, pointing to the chainmail-clad corpse, “likely was part of that besieging force.”

“That guy, too,” says Theodred, pointing to a similar skeletal corpse laying on the sairs going up to the tower’s next floor.

Moving forward, Preh examines the stairs. “Looks like he set off a trap on the stairs—those two steps there are discolored, and when he stepped on them, something came out of those tiny holes in the ceiling.”

“Acid, if I were to judge by the markings on his armor,” observes Theodred.

“Can you bypass the trap? asks Rune.

“No need,” says the rogue. “It looks like it was never reset, so we should be good.”

“Well, that was an unfortunate soul,” says Rune, pointing to the corpse. “How long do you think he’s been there?”

“Judging for the look of the bones, style of his armament, and the amount of rust,” notes Lia, “I’d think maybe three centuries—posssibly more.”

“Look,” says Preh, nodding toward a soot-covered symbol carved into the top of the doorway’s arch.

“Looks like the symbol marked on the map,” notes Theodred. “I’d say we’re in the right place. Let’s have a look inside.”

Telling Willem to wait outside, the four adventurers enter the tower, with Preh carefully casing the place for traps.

Freeday, Wealsun 7th, 595 CY, morning

After four days of travel through to rough terrain of the Cairn Hills, Lia, Preh, Rune, Theodred, and Willem discover a mysterious five-sided tower, 65’ high, and 20’ per side. Sitting in a valley, the tower appears to have been used as a barracks and office for a long-defunct gnomish mining operation, judging from the nearby collapsed mine and gnome-sized abandoned equipment. The walls of the tower are blackened, as if at one time it was beset by fire. As the party approaches, they see that the tower was once trapped, as a skeleton in rusty chainmail lies in the doorway, the victim of a guillotine trap. Dismounting, Lia, Preh, Rune, and Theo move forward to investigate while Willem stays back with the horses.

The rest of the ride is uneventful. The group sees a smattering of wildlife–small deer feeding on the tough grass growing on the hillsides, field mice, rabbits, and several species of bird, including the small grey hawks from which the city and domain is named. They also see tracks left by small herds of wild pigs. As the day begins to wane, the party looks for a spot to camp, eventually finding one beneath a rocky overhang. Over a campfire, the five share stories of their past: Preh shares the tale of his adoptive father, a city watchman, dying as a result of collateral damage in a battle between archmages; Lia speaks of her time as a wandering priestess in the Gnarley and Welkwood during the Greyhawk Wars; Rune tells of his exile from the lands of the Frost Barbarians and his brother’s betrayal; and Theodred talks about what it was like to grow up among the sweeping spires of Enstad, capital of Celene, and why he left that elven realm for Greyhawk.

As the five ride on, Preh fills his companions in on the terrain. “These rugged hills might look a little drab, but they’re rich with granite and quartz. The Great South Peninsula itself is rich with gems as well, mostly emeralds, rubies, and diamonds.”

“You don’t say?” asks Theodred.

The rogue laughs. “Don’t get too excited, Theodred. Gnomes run most of the mining operations here, and you’d have a hard time passing for one of the smallfolk.”

“All it takes is the right spell,” quips the mage.

“You speak Gnomish, Theo?” asks Lia.

“There’s a spell for that, too!” he snaps.

“The treasure part sounds promising,” says Rune.

“If you can get in,” replies Preh. “Entry is strictly controlled by a band of dwarves, and those who make it out are forced to fork over a share of any found wealth.”

“Sounds like they’ve found the perfect balance of risk versus reward,” says Theodred.

“Sound more like bandits and cowards to me,” says Rune. “Stealing wealth earned by the blood and sweat of others.”

“And the City of Greyhawk just allows them to do this?” asks Lia.

“They sure do,” answers Preh.

“But why?” asks Willem.

“Mainly because half of what they take is passed on to the city coffers!” laughs the rogue.

“Not surprising,” laughs Theodred. “Greyhawk is known as ‘The City of Thieves,’ after all.”

“I assume the ‘Mad God’ you referred to would be Zagyg?” asks Theodred.

“The one and same,” replies Preh. “In fact,” the rogue points as they turn northward along a little-used trail, “he built that.”

The others follow Preh’s finger to see the ruins of three great towers visible in the distance to their right.

“Castle Greyhawk,” notes Theodred, or what’s left of it. “Built by Zagig during his time as Lord Mayor, when he was still mortal. He abandoned it well over a century ago. Its lower depths are said to be an endless maze. Many explorers have found great treasures there, but many more have only found death.”

I came this way last Growfest,” notes Preh, “with my companions Toben, Nico, Galena, and Verben, when we sought the Mad God’s Key from the Tomb of Blood Everflowing.”

“That was when you faced those Vecnan cultists, right?” asks Rune.

“Yup. Struck the killing blow on Veltargo, the cult leader. Rapier right through the left eye.”

“Poetic justice, that,” replies Lia.

“Got this nice magic cloak off him, too,” the rogue replies, shaking out his black mantle.

The five ride southwest for a couple miles on the River Road leading from the City of Greyhawk, before arriving a small settlement at a crossroads. They take a right, crossing Zagig’s Bridge, a looming stone expanse spanning the Selintan River. A massive stone statue of a robed figure holding a longsword at the road’s edge points the way across the bridge into a craggy spur of the Cairn Hills.

Session 16, 1/9/2022. All players present.

Dramatis Personae:

Willem, Neutral Good male human commoner 4 of the Domain of Greyhawk (NPC). Shaggy brown hair, brown eyes, tanned skin. 6', 200 lbs. Studded leather, club, sling, heavy wooden shield.

Moonday, Reaping 3rd, 595 CY

After spending a good deal of the morning in Greyhawk's Low Market, Rune, Preh, and Willem load their wheel of cheese, cask of ale, a few loaves of bread, and other assorted foodstuffs they purchased for the journey on their cart, and meet Lia and Theodred outside the Highway Gate. Having marked the location of the odd symbol on Rune’s map, the party begin their journey to the Great South Peninsula.

Flocktime

After several months, Geld calls Rune, Preh, Lia, and Theodred to his shop in the River Quarter, and leads them into a large sitting room where the four fully-restored tapestries hang on the wall (upon seeing them, the party realizes they’re probably worth several times the price they sold them for in this restored condition).

The maps more or less cover the entire Domain of Greyhawk and parts of neighboring lands. Geld notes that since the map is well over 200 years old, some locations are no longer extant.

Examining the tapestries closely, the party find an odd symbol, once obscured by soot and mold (and even now barely visible), on the western portion of the Great South Peninsula, that great spear of land jutting northward into the Nyr Dyv.

After thanking Geld for letting them see the map, the party heads for the Blue Dragon Inn’s taproom to discuss their findings. Pulling out his own map of the region, Rune estimates it to be three or four days by horseback to the location, though it may take a day or two of searching the region to find exactly what the symbol is marking. The party vows to leave in a few weeks, once the terms at the Bardschool and University of Magical Arts are up.

Planting 20, 595 CY

For Theodred’s 131st nameday, Lia, Rune, Preh, and Willem take him to Orsinvel’s House of Living Tales in Old City, owned by the winner of this year’s Desportium of Magick. It’s essentially a theatre where the owner and his apprentices uses clever illusions to tell narrative stories. The show they experience is called When a Star Falls, supposedly based on a true story in which four adventurers (the human druid Earthramus, the human rogue Gilitar, the elven barbarian Nanolth, and the elven ranger Aladrin) use a magical item called the Dragonstar to slay two powerful red dragons terrorizing the countryside, though Nanolth loses his foot in the process. Unfortunately, Orsinvel doesn’t deem the party’s own story of dragonslaying dramatic enough for a Living Tale™ of its own.

Growfest 7, 595 CY

The party witnesses the massive illusion contest known as the Desportium of Magick. The winner this year is a portly old illusionist named Orsinvel, famed for his House of Living Tales.

Coldeven, 595 CY

Lia finally receives word from Oakvein, learning its famed elven Loremasters know nothing of the runes on the Pentagonal Key.

Readying 2nd, 595 CY

Rune’s 25th nameday. Much drinking ensues.