Session 7 Recap

The heroes begin the trek to Drummond's Point. They pass through the village of Woodhaven where the talk of the town is the early coming of winter and discussion about an early harvest to salvage what they can. The heroes advise the people of Woodhaven to get their harvest in early and to prepare for a long hard winter. The people of Woodhaven have had no contact with anyone from Drummond's Point in a couple of weeks. Rumor has it that the Witch Wood has swallowed the town.

Continuing south they arrive in Solace to find a similar story. The early coming of winter is the biggest news and the lack of travel to and from Drummond's Point is a minor footnote. The heroes meet Xandar Pathfinder, an elf that claims as friends the elves of the Witch Wood. He says that the Witch Wood has not moved against Drummond's Point, but that a great tangled briar forest has blocked the road. He has seen the briar and will not enter it.

The Silver Elites make their way farther south and come to a great briar forest blocking the road, just as Xandar claimed. The road continues into the forest and looks like the entrance to a tunnel through the tangle. They make their way in hoping to find what has happened in Drummond's Point.

Along the way the heroes are assaulted by a pair of feral elves and their plant allies. After defeating them Aeral identifies the elves as Dusk Elves from the Feywild. She recognizes some change in them: their eyes are changed to black irises on deeper black vertical slit pupils and they have sharp teeth. An odd situation no doubt.

Deeper into the briar the heroes face off against devils and skeletons. They take from a pair of fallen imps two gold necklaces strung with pearls and marked with a strange magical sigil. Aeral recognizes that the necklaces are a mark of ownership and that the sigil probably identifies the devil that owns these imps.

Continuing along the road they begin to suspect the trail does not lead to Drummond's Point. Using their knowledge and skills they determine that the forest is moving about them and directing their travel to keep them in the deepest part of the briar. They determine to strike out off of the road to find their way to Drummond's Point.

Eventually the heroes make their way close to Drummond's Point and meet a band of friendly Dusk Elves. The elves are lost in this world and want to get home. They know only that they cannot find their way out of the briar and that the nearby village of Drummond's Point is ruled by many powerful devils. The elder of the elf tribe, Talishstra, helps identify the sigil on the imps' necklaces as belonging to Merodach, a greater devil that was instrumental in creating the Tiefling race.

The heroes make their way to Drummond's Point and observe the place for the better part of a day. They see townspeople going about "normal" business, but they are guarded and watched over by dozens of devils. They see one may attempt to flee into the thorn briar around Drummond's Point and watch as a great devil races and runs him down with a trident. The heroes return to the Dusk Elf camp to make plans.

Session 6 Recap

The heroes awoke at Border Watch Keep and come out of the underground barracks to find a handful of kobolds milling about inside the keep grounds. The kobolds called for the party to handover "the dwarf to feed the dragon." Kalim was having none of that and charged them.

The kobolds were ready for the attack and two of them immediately went to work on the portcullis while the other two advanced on the party. A medium sized red dragon wyrmling flew over the walls of the keep and breathed fire on the party. Several more kobolds stormed through the open gate.

A fierce two front battle ensued. Torv managed to hold most of the kobolds at the front gate while the rest of the party focused on the dragon in their midst. The dragon laid several mighty blows on Jordin and others and eventually dropped Jordin, but the party managed to prevail. They cut down the dragon and killed off the kobolds, sans one.

The Silver Elites questioned the kobold closely. He claimed they were "feeding the dragon" and that this dragon was one of many that "fight for the glory of Gafir!" The kobold made a great many threats and boasts before Kalim got tired of him and killed him.

The heroes then started their journey back to Stonehome with the dwarf captive, Tallos Fireaxe, in tow. The weather continued to deteriorate; it got colder and thick snow made the journey quite dangerous and trying.

A bit over halfway along the trek the heroes caught up to a large band (100 or more) of goblin refugees. The party trailed behind them, staying out of sight. Eventually they came on a dying goblin left behind by the larger group. They nursed the goblin back to health and questioned him closely.

The goblins are a tribe from the Bloodbane nation who are fleeing a vicious attack by Razorclaw kobolds and several dragons. The goblin refugee claimed to have personally seen three dragons during the battles and said there were more. He and the other refugees escaped by collapsing a passage in their tunnels and fleeing out of a back door. While the party camped that night the refugee ran off in to the night. Aeral saw him leaving, but didn't bother with stopping him.

The next day the heroes saw that the goblins left the Chisel Trail and have wandered into the Witch Wood. The goblin they spoke with the previous day said this was their plan. The Silver Elites counciled against it, but the goblins seem set on finding peace from the kobolds and protection from the nasty winter weather in the wooded valley.

As they near the walls of Stonehome the party spotted a dozen or so humans waiting in ambush. They identifed them as members of the Blue River Thieving Guild. The heroes decided to evade them and managed, just barely, to avoid them and run back to the walls of Stonehome with the bandits in close pursuit. About a quarter mile or so from the gates of Stonehome the bandits turned back, giving up their quarry.

At Stonehome the heroes claim their reward and accolades for capturing Tallos. They spend a week or so relaxing and recuperating while they gather news and tell tales.

Session 5 Recap (part 2)

Shamus Goodwine, a lieutenant of the Blue River Thieving Guild, emerges from the barracks of Border Watch keep along with a goblin warrior and Tallos Fireaxe, dwarf fugitive. The goblin barks some commands in goblin, calling for a halt to the fighting, which Shamus relays to his men. The remaining bandits back off and parley ensues.

The heroes demand that the bandits abandon the keep and turn over Tallos for the justice of Stonehome. A bit of give and take with much diplomacy and intimidation eventually wins the day: the goblin, Charlgus Bloodbane, agrees to leave and to make contact later with the bandits to discuss a potential mutual supporting action against the Razorclaw kobolds. The Bloodbane goblins comprise a large nation and they are feeling threat of the kobolds more closely than the people of Edmund and of Stonehome.

Shamus takes his men and abandons the keep. He agrees to act as an intermediary between the goblins and the dwarfs if the goblins will agree to parley.

The goblin and the bandit quickly give up Tallos to the justice of Stonehome. The heroes liberate some treasure from the dwarf and the camp and hunker down to rest the night underground. The bitter cold of a deep winter has set in, and it would be dangerous to rest outside.

During the night Tallos approaches Grim and Torv separately trying to win his freedom. He offers them "great knowledge and glory for their clans" if they will set him free. They refuse but later tell their comrades of Tallos's tale. Aeral and Jordin work it out: Tallos and Kharas sent men to Gafir's lair to recover the Bracers of Dwarven Brotherhood, a mighty artifact of the dwarfs last worn by Jaedyn Fireaxe in battle against the dragon Gafir.

The heroes while away the night in the underground barracks of the keep and make ready to leave the next morning.

Treasure: Frostwolf Pelt +1, Potion of Clarity (level 5), five amethysts worth 100 gp each, and 220 gp in mixed coins

Session 5 Recap

This was a combat heavy session.

The heroes opened the game moving along the Chisel Path to the Border Watch Keep. Torv recognized the unseasonably cold weather blowing in from the south as having an unnatural source. After a bit of noodling over it with Aeral they came to the conclusion that some magical force in the Witch Wood has triggered the great dark clouds hovering over the forest and bringing a great mass of cold air to the mountains . . . from the South.

On the march up the Chisel Path spur heading to the keep the party met a mixed patrol of elf and human bandits. They quickly dispatched the soldiers and minions, but the elf archers made a quick escape. The Silver Elites caught up with the archers at a guard tower a couple of miles away from the keep . . . and the archers had more friends. A hard fought battle ranged over a large battlefield and eventually ended when Kalim and Grim managed to ride an elevator to the top of the tower to bring down the archers and a goblin sharp shooter.

They captured one of the archers and questioned him about patrol patterns. The elf told them to expect a guard force to arrive around nightfall to replace the tower guards. He also told them there are about 25 or 30 people at the keep.

The Silver Elites set up an ambush at the guard tower and wait for the evening guard change. In their prepared state they make very quick work of the soldiers coming to take the night watch.

Another bit of subterfuge wins the way into the keep. They approach after nightfall pretending to be the relieved guard force returning to the keep. After they get in the gate, one of the guards recognizes them as imposters and a great melee ensues. The heroes beat down the guards and take on wave after wave of soldiers and archers coming up from the underground barracks. Finally, the leadership of the keep emerges.

NPC Profile: King Arnulf Blademeister

King Arnulf is the fierce and mighty king of the dwarfs of Stonehome. He has held the position of king for over forty years and intends to run for a third term in six years. His clan has the support of numerous minor clans and the major clans of Drumbottle, Bronzekettle and Two-Axe.

King Arnulf fought alongside Prince Jorum's grandfather in the battles against the Razorclaw tribe of kobolds and their dragon leader, Gafir, 100 years ago. King Arnulf proved his worth as he landed mighty blows against Gafir when Joshua Edmund fell to the dragon. King Arnulf has been a warchief and war advisor before ascending to the throne in a hard-fought election with Korum Fireaxe and Malcolm Two-Axe as his major opponents. For unknown reasons Two-Axe withdrew from the election and threw his support behind the Blademeister assuring Arnulf the victory after the forth ballot.

King Arnulf is a no-nonsense ruler. He abides by the laws of Stonehome, watches vigilantly for enemies and honors his commitments to others. King Arnulf signed a mutual protection pact with Prince Josseth Edmund shortly after taking the throne. No call has been made to honor this treaty, but with the recent Razorclaw menace on the border and tales Gafir waking in the mountains, everyone fully expects Prince Jorum to make the call soon.

Session 4 Recap

At Stonehome

The session opened with a quick recap of the last session and a quick dive into some dwarf politics. The heroes felt they needed to be at the Private Council of the Dwarfs and made quick work toward getting an invitation. They met first with Drusilla Fireaxe. She agreed to be one of their sponsors into the Council, expecting them to side with her clan and help shield her from any trouble arising out of Kharas and Tallos's actions. She advised them they would need an invitation from the King or from two Councilors to get into the Council. She agreed to approach Wilhelm Bronzekettle on their behalf to get a second for the invitation.

Back at their quarters they received a message from Jodie Giantslayer, another Councilor who wanted to talk with them. They chose to delay answering the request and made way to meet with King Arnulf Blademeister.

King Arnulf received the heroes and quickly cut to the heart of the matter. The problems with kobolds and a potential dragon menace should be addressed forcefully. The king agreed to sponsor them into the Council. Having personally fought at the battle against Gafir 100 years ago, King Arnulf has no desire to see this dragon threaten the lands again.

The next morning a representative of Jodie Giantslayer, Twilingar "friends call me Twig" Giantslayer, came to them. He obliquely offered money if they would meet with "my friend Jodie." The heroes politely demurred, and said they would see him after the Council.

Grim managed to track down a shady member of his clan, his cousin Gormac Harmon, to get information about Tallos Fireaxe. For a sum of 250 gold, Gormac pointed the heroes in the direction of the Border Watch keep where Tallos has contacts among the Blue River Thieving Guild.

The Council

At the Council Drusilla Fireaxe announced the "unauthorized treasure hunting" on the part of her clan mates. She allowed that their activities may have stirred up the kobolds in the area and suggested they be tried for "financing an unlawful expedition into the mountains" for which they should be fined. She also advised that the dwarfs of Stonehome should send some troops to help protect Fallcrest against the kobolds and another force to hunt down and destroy the annoying "rat men". She carefully avoided any mention of Gafir.

Malcolm Twoaxe, the king's war advisor, leaped into the discussion and bellowed about the dangers brought to the dwarfs by the Fireaxe clan. Malcolm has spent a great deal of time interrogating the kobold captive, Xaxgal, that the heroes brought to Stonehome. This kobold mutters the name of Gafir, calls down curses on the dwarfs and pronounces that one day "the kobolds of the Razorclaw tribe will rule this land again for the glory of Gafir!" Malcolm opposes sending dwarfs to "defend the humans; let them fend for themselves. We have to protect Stonehome."

A long debate ensues. The Fireaxe and Bronzekettle Councilors attempt to deflect damage from the Fireaxe clan while supporting efforts to help their human allies. Malcolm calls for a strong defense of Stonehome. Jodie Giantslayer calls on the King to send troops to Fallcrest, and suggests that the Fireaxe clan should bear the expense. Elisa Drumbottle, the last of the Councilors, quietly takes it all in and appears to be swayed by the most recent argument at any given time. Finally, after the heroes have had their say, the King makes his pronouncements: the dwarfs of Stonehome will honor their treaty with the Principality of Edmund. If a formal request for aid comes from Prince Jorum then Stonehome will answer. The Fireaxe clan will be made to foot the bill for the troops. In the meantime, the dwarf traitors, Kharas and Tallos Fireaxe, will be caught and tried. Should the rumors of a dragon be proved, these two will be executed. Otherwise they will be fined and imprisoned for their unwise actions.

King Arnulf also lays a command on Grimold Ironforge and Torvidicus Harmon to take what forces they can gather and to recapture the Border Watch keep on the Chisel Path. This place will make a good base of operations against the kobolds, and gods forbid Gafir, should it become necessary. The people of Stonehome will step up their patrols on the western end of the Chisel Trail.

Later that night the heroes meet briefly with Jodie Giantslayer. He wants their aid in bringing down the Fireaxe clan. The election for the Council seat held by the Fireaxe clan will occur in two years. "It is time to start gathering dir, erm, um, information to prepare for the election." The heroes are noncommittal about their allegiance.

On the Chisel Path

The Silver Elites make their way down the Chisel Path towards the Border Watch keep. They encounter a pair of kobolds on the road. The kobolds attempt to hide from the heroes, but the dwarfs and Kalim easily spot them and attack. The kobolds use various rat swarms and allies in a losing battle. Eventually the kobolds flee the field of battle, leaving their rat friends behind. The heroes catch up to one of the kobolds along the road some time later. It is dying from its wounds. They bandage the creature and question it. The kobold is of the Ratkin tribe of kobolds. The Ratkins have been decimated by the Razorclaw kobolds and most of their kin have been taken as slaves. Those that have avoided capture are fleeing from the mountains. The heroes let the kobold leave.

Later that evening a trio of goblin scouts and their wolf companions attack the party while they rest. In a fairly quick and one-sided battle the heroes bring the goblins down. They capture the goblin witch doctor who says they are members of the Bloodbane tribe who rule this part of the mountains. They were here on a simple errand of banditry. The heroes loot the goblins and come up with a bit of cash, an Orb of Sanguinary Repercussions +1, and an augmenting whetstone (level 6). The heroes camp for the night, planning to assault the bandits at Border Watch on the morrow.

Treasure Parcel Reset

So, we've got basically an entirely new group. I'm resetting the treasure distributed at 1st level as follows:

• Gauntlets of Ogre Power (level 5 hands slot item)
• Black Iron Scale Armor +1 (level 4 armor slot item)
• Wand of Witchfire +1 (level 3 wand; Jordin has this one)
• Amulet of Physical Resolve +1 (level 2 neck slot item)
• 200 gp
• 180 gp
• 70 gp and Potion of Clarity (level 5)
• 120 gp
• 40 gp

Total cash: 610 gp

Decide how to divide up the rest. My suggestion is that you each take a magic item and give a larger share of gold to the person that does not get a permanent item, but you do what you want to do. Let me know the plan.

Sending Ritual

There was some discussion about using the Sending ritual to get word to Prince Jorum about the goings on in Stonehome.

Grimold Ironforge has family here and they are reasonably well off. A member of the clan, Aegon Ironforge, has the ability to cast the Sending ritual. The clan will donate up to 100 gp worth of residium to cast the ritual two times. If you want to use it additional times you'll have to find a way to pay for it.

You convey a mental message of up to 25 words to a person you know. If the target is within range, he or she receives the message mentally and can respond likewise. The ritual’s maximum range is determined by your Arcana check result.

Aegon needs to get a 20 or better on his Arcana check to make the Sending work, which shouldn't be too hard for him. Decide what your message will be and if we can do this BEFORE the next game I can get things rolling with that.

Also, think on what you know and what you want to do next game. The next game could be very role-play intensive, or I can rush us through the politicking.

Session 3 Recap

What's going on?

The Silver Elites have traveled to Stonehome to deliver a message from Prince Jorum Edmund to King Arnulf the Blademeister of Stonehome regarding recent problems with kobolds in the Smokestack Mountains near Fallcrest. Edmund has reason to believe that a band of dwarfs may have disturbed the kobolds, and more importantly the ancient dragon menace, Gafir. Kharas Fireaxe, a traveling dwarf merchant from Stonehome, let slip that this may be the case.

Tallos Fireaxe, Kharas's brother, approached the heroes on their first night in Stonehome. He told them that the Fireaxe clan did indeed finance the mission to recover Gafir's treasure. He strongly encouraged the heroes to avoid mentioning the dragon, or dwarfs or anything that might bring dishonor to his clan. The Fireaxe clan has held a position on the High Council of Stonehome for generations and a scandal of this sort would endanger their political standing. The election for the position currently held by the Fireaxe clan occurs in two years. The heroes were noncommittal to Tallos, but he left believing they will not be doing him any favors.

The next night Drusilla Fireaxe, the High Councilor of the Fireaxe clan, invited the Silver Elites to a dinner party. The heroes enjoyed a massive banquet and good entertainment before Drusilla met with them privately. Drusilla pumped them for information and discovered the problems with the kobolds, the potential involvement of dwarfs and the threat of Gafir. Jordin recognized that Drusilla did not know about the expedition to Gafir's treasure. She thanked them for their time and dismissed them.

The King's Court

The Silver Elites attended King Arnulf's Court in the Stonehome Amphitheater. The session opened with a very stylized and ritualistic performance that named all of the High Councilors and announced the purpose of the Court: to treat with emissaries from the Court of Prince Jorum Edmund. As the king called on the heroes to stand and present their business High Councilor Drusilla Fireaxe called "a Point of Order" which interrupted the proceedings. The assembled dwarfs were shocked. While the High Councilor followed protocol and was well within her rights to do call a Point of Order, such interruptions are nearly unheard of in King Arnulf's court.

High Councilor Drusilla then proceeded to accuse two members of her own clan, the brothers Tallos and Kharas Fireaxe, of high treason. The rules of the dwarf court require that such matters be resolved prior to any other business and after a formal reading of the charges, the court was adjourned with the pronouncement that King Arnulf and High Councilor Drusilla Fireaxe demand the capture of both Tallos and Kharas and will pay a reward of 1,000 gp each for the presentation of their living persons at the court at Stonehome.

The specifics of the charges were not made public. High Councilor Drusilla used her authority to press for a private Council at which to discuss the matters as the information may present a danger to the state.

What to do?

So, High Councilor Drusilla Fireaxe has managed to manuever the court to avoid public presentation of information that will endanger her political position. In the meantime, King Arnulf still does not know what's going on and the heroes have not gotten Prince Jorum's message to the king.

Catching Up

We played a second game with the original PCs. It amounted to the Silver Elites answering the call of Prince Jorumn to visit the dwarfs of Stonehome and to bring word of the kobolds to him. The heroes had a choice of paths and initially planned to take the long, safe route by way of the trade highway with Kharas Fireaxe. These plans changed when Prince Justin decided that he wanted the glory of "putting the dwarfs on notice" for himself. Prince Justin took the dangerous Chisel Path to the north. The heroes set out in pursuit and after a brief chase caught up to him west of Fallcrest on the Chisel Path.

Captain Tiberious and several guards took Prince Justin and his hangers on in hand and led them back to Edmund Keep. A band of thugs accosted the party before they caught up with Prince Justin. The heroes captured one of the bandits and learned from him that he and his comrades were hired by a representative of the Blue River Thieving Guild to attack the party. Part of their payment was a necklace belonging to Lady Elaine Edmund which the heroes gave to Captain Tiberious to return to her.

Long break between games and then a party reset. See next report.

The New Cast

Aeral and Jordin are still around, but we've shuffled the cast a bit.

Kalim: human barbarian

Grim: dwarf fighter

Torv: dwarf warden

More details coming soon.

NPC Profile: Prince Jorum Edmund

Prince Jorum Edmund has ruled the Principality of Edmund from his seat at Edmund Keep for about thirty years since the untimely death of his father, Prince Josseth Edmund. The people of the Principality accept his rule and see Prince Edmund as a just and benevolent leader looking out for the well being of his people. He has recently taken an interest in the history of his family and wishes to reestablish the Principality as a force to be reckoned with in the World. He has in mind an ambitious plan of expansion that includes taking control of all of the lands near the current borders of his Principality with particular interest on the lands ruled in the time of the fallen Oshland Empire three hundred years ago.

Prince Edmund has two living children: his son and heir, Prince Justin Edmund, and his half-elf bastard daughter, Jordin Edmund. He has spent the lifetime of his children grooming them to rule in his stead when he leaves the World. He sees Prince Justin as a young, brash version of himself that needs some additional years of molding before the boy will be ready to rule. He views his daughter as an accomplished leader ready to take the reins of the Keep Guards or the army at any time.

NPC Cards

In running the role-play/skill challenge scene in the first game, I used a new method to introduce NPCs that seemed to work great. For each of the important NPCs I created a character card as follows: color picture of the NPC in question (mostly from Character Builder, but a few google image searches), plus name in large script and three adjectives to describe the character. I could fit three of these character cards on a single sheet of 11.5 x 8.5 cardstock paper in portrait layout. The picture took up the left half of the sheet for each NPC and the words on the right half. Cut them out so that you have a bit of cardstock about 2.5 x 8.5 inches for each NPC.

For example, Prince Jorum Edmund had the adjectives benevolent, just and ambitious.

I then laid all the cards out on the table and told the players to paw through them and let me know when they saw someone they wanted to talk to. There were about a dozen NPCs represented on the cards.

Whenever I spoke in character as one of the NPCs I would hold the card up to make sure everyone got a good mental image of the NPC.

This method was great fun. I hope it will have the effect of imprinting the NPCs on the players' memories so we can avoid the "Hey, let's go talk to old what's-his-name, you know, the king guy" that I see and hear about in nearly every game.

Session 1 Wrapup

This was our first game, and three of the players were brand new to Dungeons and Dragons. It was a great game. The combat, four 1st level PCs vs. 600 xp worth of kobolds, took about an hour and a half, as expected. I spent a great deal of time explaining the rules to people who have never played any version of D&D. They quickly grasped the fundamentals, picked up on some basic strategic options and basically had their way with the bad guys. There were a few tense moments, like when the eladrin wizard dropped to four hit points while the dwarf paladin and the eladrin ranger's cat were also bloodied, but good fun was had by all.

The court presentation and skill challenge went exceptionally well. I did not explain to them that it was a skill challenge until about half way through it. Basically, I had various people approach them and discuss things of interest to them and try to elicit some response from the players. Occassionally I would ask one of them to make a skill check. After four successful skill checks I told them that this was a role-playing skill challenge and that what we're looking for is the opportunity to learn information and move the plot forward through the use of role-play and skill use. They jumped on it and became more interested in the story and what people had to say.

It was my original intention to have the Prince set them up on a mission to a nearby village to "evangelize" on his behalf in preparation for him taking over territory, but they really jumped on the bits about the dragon and pushed that more than I expected.

I had written the kobold's battle cry, "Bring me the dwarf's head for the glory of Gafir!" before the game, but I really had no idea what or who Gafir was. I decided during the game that Gafir was a black dragon. I really was just making the dragon bits up regarding the 100 year torpor, the battle with Prince Jorum's grandfather and pretty much all of it.

Game one and already the game is going in an entirely unexpected direction. I love it! It was their idea to tell the prince about the dragon and to set themselves up as the diplomats to go and visit the dwarf kingdom. Looks like I need to make up some dwarf NPCs!

In the meantime, unknown to them, there are some potential trouble makers at court. The prince's legitimate son, Prince Justin, sees Jordin as a potential rival. He's not worried about her taking his throne, but he is concerned about the amount of attention she gets from their father. Also, the situation with Kharas could get interesting. I initially had him ready to be a mentor type for the dwarf paladin, but as it played out he bacame a crafty, conniving type looking to make a profit. We'll have to see where that one goes. Finally, the Lady Caer Branloth, a tiefling noble woman, approached Aeral and engaged in some small talk. Along the way she dropped a hint that she might hire the heroes for business of her own in the future. I have no idea where that will go.

This game is off to a fabulous start. We'll see where it goes from here.

Session 1 Recap (part 2)

The Silver Elites return to Edmund Keep victorious. Captain Tiberious Johns greets them at the gate and congratulates them on their success. He advises them to clean up and get some rest as Prince Jorum has planned a special festival for them on the morrow.

The heroes take the clean up advice, but not so much the rest . . . they decide to make a night on the town which is mostly uneventful.

The next night Prince Jorum Edmund and his court greet the heroes in his great hall. With everyone dressed in their finest and a bountiful table laid for the feast the heroes find a rousing good time. Prince Jorum addresses the court and calls on the people of the Principality to treat the Silver Elites with the respect and honor they have earned. He particularly calls on the people of Fallcrest to praise them. Prince Jorum awards each of the heroes a silver pendant with gold highlights and the Edmund family crest inlaid on it. Then the feasting begins.

Throughout the feast various dignitaries approach the heroes to offer them congratulations and adulations. Count Dougal Arken, the ruler of Arken County where Fallcrest lies, meets with Melantha and offers her a personal reward of a magical longbow as thanks for the service to his family. He gives this family heirloom to her and begs her to use it further the glory of his family.

The festivities continue into the late hours of the night. The heroes meet in small groups or in duos with numerous courtiers, retelling the glory of Phausziek's demise and catching up on court gossip.

The night takes a more interesting turn when Jadestar Kaldoran, the dragonborn borderguard captain from Fallcrest meets them. She asks many probing questions about the kobolds and takes great interest when Koron recalls Phausziek's battle cry, "Bring me the dwarf's head for the glory of Gafir!" The name, Gafir, reminds Jadestar of something. Over the next hour or so the heroes piece together bits of information from their own knowledge and from that gained from others. A black dragon by the name of Gafir terrorized the area around Fallcrest about one hundred years ago. He led a band of devoted kobolds of a unique nature (they had wings and razor claws) on many raids against the people in and around Fallcrest. The dragon's tale of woe and blood ended when Prince Joshua Edmund, the current Prince's grandfather, led a massive army into the hills. The army exterminated the kobolds and gravely wounded Gafir, but at great cost. Prince Joshua and many hundreds of warriors died in the battles. The dragon fled the field and no one has heard of it since.

But now, one hundred years later, a kobold tribe in the hills north of Fallcrest invokes the dragon's name in battle. Melantha proposes that the dragon may not have died these many years ago. Dragons will sometimes enter a long hibernation, or torpor, to recover from wounds or otherwise pass the centuries. Could it be that Gafir is awakened from the long sleep?

The heroes ask around some more and finally Koron manages to learn something of extreme importance from the dwarf merchant, Kharas Fireaxe. The seemingly drunken dwarf lets slip to Koron that he knows of the wizard Gafir. Koron, sensing a falsehood presses the dwarf for more. Under some duress Kharas hesitantly admits that some people, maybe dwarves, may possibly have heard of a treasure, maybe, that was the horde of what might possibly have once been the dragon called Gafir, and it's possible that maybe they . . . woke the dragon from its sleep. But you really never can be sure of such things when no one returns from the quest for treasure, now can you?

The heroes leap into action. They pool their knowledge of dragons in general, more especially of black ones and even particularly of the dragon Gafir. With a bit of input from Jadestar, Captain Tiberious and the Prince's Steward, Lord Gregor Austin, they decide to go to the Prince.

Prince Edmund meets with Lord Gregor, Captain Tiberious and the Silver Elites to assess the situation. They determine to send an emissary to Stonehome, the dwarf kingdom, to find what the king there knows of the situation and to make plans to solve the problem. Koron suggests that the Silver Elites should make this trek for the Prince as he is not sure they can trust Kharas. Prince Edmund agrees, and the heroes retire for the evening to make plans.

Rewards: 100 xp; flameburst longbow +1

Session 1 Recap (part 1)

in media res . . .

Prince Jorum Edmund, the local lord and ruler of the Principality of Edmund, has sent the Silver Elites, his elite strike force, into the hills north of the town of Fallcrest to deal with a bandit crew of kobolds. The kobolds, led by the powerful wizard Phausziek, have raided outlying farms in the area for about a week. They murdered two farmers and stole numerous cattle.

Having fought their way through twisting caverns and a veritable horde of kobold guards and minions, they have made their way to the palace room of Phausziek. They see a massive underground chamber, neatly bisected by a river with a narrow wooden bridge snaking across it. On the far side, raised well above the river lie the crumbling ruins of a once beautiful, but fallen temple. Nearly a dozen kobolds stand ready to attack having heard alarms and other warning of their approach.

As the heroes enter the place the kobolds rush to defend their chief. Two heavily armed and armored soldiers rush to take positions on the bridge, while a pair of slingers move to flank the intruders from high ground on the far side. A band of minions take up protective positions around Phausziek who strides foward confidently. The kobold chief screeches, "Bring me the head of the dwarf for the glory of Gafir!"

Aural and Jordin hold position far away from the oncoming soldiers and lay low a pair of minions with arcane blasts. Koran makes his way to the bridge and charges at one of the guards, laying down an awesome blow with his massive war axe. Melantha and her cat, Leona, pounce foward, and Melantha looses a barrage of arrows on Koran's target bloodying him badly.

The pace of the battle quickens and the kobold slingers bring their dangerous shots into the game. Leona bursts into flame as one of the kobolds lands a flaming burst on her. Melantha continues to pick her way forward, pelting her foes with arrows and her great cat takes up position to aid Koron. While the cat and Koron keep the soldiers engaged, Aeral and Jordin bring down the remaining minions around Phausziek. It is a tough and bloody fight, but when Aeral blasts the kobold chief with her flaming sphere the tide turns decisively in the heroes' favor. Even as more minions come to the aid of their beleagured chief, the Elites enter the mop up phase of the battle bringing down foe after foe in short order.

The adventurers pick over the corpses of their fallen foes, finding some gold and silver coins. They also retrieve a magical wand and a silver necklace from Phausziek. Finally, Koron hews the head from the kobold leader to return to their lord as proof of their heroic deeds this day.

Rewards: 150 xp each; 80 gp; silver necklace with saphire pendant (100 gp); wand of witchfire +1

The Heroes

Aeral: eladrin wizard; magic scholar; Aeral comes from the magical eladrin city of Mithrendain in the Feywild. Mithrendain appears in the World once every ten years for thirty days. When the city appeared in the World last, Aeral traveled to Edmund Keep at the behest of the eladrin elders to establish relations with the humans in this area. She didn't make it back to the city in time and has been stranded here for several years. Over the last few years she has befriended Jordan Edmund, the Prince's bastard daughter.

Jordin Edmund: half elf bard; noble scion; Jordin is the bastard daughter of Prince Jorum Edmund. Prince Jorum has trained and groomed his daughter for some as-yet-undetermined "great task". She, along with the other PCs, is a member of his elite "strike force" that handles delicate problems for him.

Koron: dwarf paladin; prison conversion; Koron committed some terrible crime in the past (details to come), for which he spent many years in the Prince Jorum's dungeon. During his stay in prison he found solace in the teachings of Moradin. Through a fortutious encounter with Captain Tiberious Johns, Koron's newfound holiness won the stern captain over. Captain Tiberious prevailed upon Prince Jorum to free the paladin. Prince Jorum went a step further and installed the stalwart dwarf in his strike force. Koron has a deep life debt to both Prince Jorum and Captain Tiberious.

Melantha: eladrin beastmaster ranger; eldritch harlequin; Melantha was part of the same criminal crew to which Koron belonged. When Koron got caught, Melantha laid low and avoided trouble. She has skulked about the area for years always on the edge of getting caught in something that would be her downfall. When Koron got out of prison she came to him and he has, perhaps unwisely, vouched for her. She is allied with the heroes in their service to Prince Jorum, but why exactly and what her ultimate goals may be are a complete mystery.