Tensions in Schwarztenbruin are high, and somehow, you’ve managed to be involved with many of the incidents that have sparked the fires, quite literally in one case. The acting Pfaltzgraf of the Weisspeers, Greta Vosser-Weisspeer (Hasten’s widow), asked you to investigate rumours of conflict between the Roodbergs and the Weisspeer allies, the Vossers, in the Kershane Pass. Although a unit of the 6th Auszugen has been dispatched to the area to act as peacekeepers, Greta suspects that there is something more sinister unfolding.

Travelling along the Kershanetrek, you met a travelling band of Vossers, who introduced themselves as members of the Fellkatz Vosser sept. They informed you that Twin Bridges, the town which straddles the Kershane River, is a Roodberg stronghold, and knowing that they would not be welcome there, they were planning on travelling around. They said that the Roodbergs were claiming territorial rights and levying ridiculous taxes upon the Vossers, who had finally refused to pay, thus precipitating the current conflict. Despite their warnings, you headed into Twin Bridges. Although not particularly welcome, you were permitted to pass through the town, which seemed to be swelling with a muster of Roodenhund warriors (a sept of the Roodberg clan). You passed on quickly through.

On the other side of Twin Bridges, you came across a battle site, where a number of Auszugen soldiers lay dead, as well as some goblins and hobgoblins. You also found the bodies of the Vosser party you met previously, along with a wary vosserkatz. There seemed to be a warband of goblinoids roaming around, and you decided to follow their tracks.

You were soon met by a Ravenlord, half elf half nymph, who had evidently spent too much time as a bird for the past thousand years. Seeking revenge on the goblinoids for their desecration of her part of the forest, she enlisted your aid. First, however, you needed to escape the incoming forces who were searching for you, which is where you found your first indication that the Roodbergs were for at least some part, working as agents of Hextor (big bad lawful evil deity, google him :-) and with the goblins. The Ravenlord led you to a safe area, which she revealed as the ancient Valley of Kershane, a city of Grey Olves which had been locked away in time for countless years. She explained that the goblinoids were the Guurhok, the ancestral enemies of the Kershane, and it was little surprise that they had been stirred up at the same time.

After a night’s rest, the Ravenlord led you do a battle in the woods, between the Roodenhund warband, their goblinoid allies, and the Fellkatz Vossers who had fled from the region. Guided through the mists by the Ravenlord, you were led to the leader of the Roodenhunds, the Obstergraf of the Sept, known as the “Pfaltzgraf’s Fury”, and there you did battle, albeit somewhat briefly.

With the death of the Fury and his revelation as an agent of Hextor, the Roodenhund and Guurhok warbands routed, and you were celebrated by the Fellkatz Vossers, as well as a squad of Grey Olven rangers, who had come to the aid of their old Vosser allies.

Leaving the Kershane pass, you met with a unit of the 1st Auszugen escorting acting Voormann Orgus Bildgear himself, who thanked you for helping to prevent the slaughter of the Fellkatz Vossers at the hands of the Roodenhunds. As a Roodberg himself, you wondered if perhaps Bidlgear knew what his kinsmen were up to.

---

I’ve attached the history of the Kershane which Sergei summarised for you.

XP: 900 each

GP: 100 gp upfront payment + 500 gp division of spoils for a total of 600 gp each, or 3000 gp total.

---

The adventure began with Kendrik receiving strange dreams, luring him to Critwall, in the Shield Lands. In Critwall, you came across droves of refugees from Rishvian, just over the Veng river, who had been displaced by a Priestess of Iuz taking people as slaves. You decided to investigate. Just outside the now ghost town of Rishvian, you saw that a temple was being excavated. Here, you were found by a group of Knights of Rao (The Reasoned One, which is what I was trying to remember today ;-), who were planning an assault on the temple. Rojan Arden was the leader of the knights, and he planned to attack at dawn.

Zelt Damascus sought you out at their camp, and Kendrik in particular. It turned out he had another tattoo curse, similar to Kendrik’s. He said that he had received the curse when his father died. His research indicated that three medallions bore the curses, and they were made in the temple here somehow. He thought that the curse might be undone inside the temple. The child Aaront was there with him also, who seems to be somehow related to the curses. Zelt proposed infiltrating the temple from the back entrance, and making your way to the altar of blood, in order to try and remove the curses.

Before entering the temple, Zelt asked if Kendrik would take his curse, as he didn’t want it to pass onto his young child should he die. Kendrik agreed, and Zelt gave him his father’s ring, as well as his curse. You stormed the rear entrance, and made your way to the altar of blood. There, you were attacked by a blood golem, but you dispatched of it fairly quickly. Zelt placed Aaront on the altar, and bade Kendrik drop three drops of blood on his forehead. Alas, this did not remove the curses, but instead released the demon Theron who had been trapped within Aaront. Zelt attempted to take the curse back from Kendrik, but could not succeed.

At this point, you were distracted by the assault of the knights on the temple, but arrived too late to join the fray. As the knights freed the slaves and started leading them to safety, you looked at the temple again. Aaront magically cured Zelt of the ailments of the curse, and then pointed out that the bad lady was getting away, she was over there – and she’d made more medallions. You pursued, but she planeshifted away, leaving only her cronies, which you dealt with summarily.

Aaront started following Kendrik, but realising he wasn’t welcome, vanished, saying there was a third for him to follow.

Looking back on your latest escapade, you understand that Zelt’s father was the second of the priests who corrupted the original ritual you saw in the vision, probably by using a Medallion of Dis. Given that the temple in which these medallions were created lies in the realm of Old Wicked, perhaps Iuz has something to do with the original betrayal. Perhaps you might find out more about what the ritual was for somehow?

---

XP: 840 to Brottor, 1200 to everyone else.
GP: 4680gp is the spoils of battle!

Loot:

• Cloak of Resistance +1 (Claimed by Illene)
• Pearl of Power (1st level) (Party)
• Medallion of Dis (Party)
• Ring of Damascus (Kendrik)
• +1 Longsword (Gildon)
• +1 Chain Shirt (Gildon)

Other:

• Kendrik now has the Mark of Stygia.

---

Traipsing up to Schwunglestadt in search of adventure, you responded to a notice posted at the temple of Zilchus who wanted an escort for a geological survey. Brother Shekem hired you to escort Trennan while he performed his job in a nearby mine. Inside the mine, you found a bunch of what appeared to be dissident Zilchans plotting to raid caravans, and dispatched of them handily. A little further into the mine, you found a vein of mithril, being eaten by rust monsters. After some (understandable) fear of losing valuable equipment, you eventually killed the rust monsters. Following a little further in, you became trapped in the mine by an earthquake. To your left, you found an old temple of Ulaa guarded by a simple riddle, and therein, the ghost paladin Sir Delanit bade you to recover the lost Hammer of Ulaa.

Heading back to find Solrina, you encountered a pair of incorporeals, including your first spectre. Routed, you regrouped, and came back for vengeance the next day. Giddy with victory, you charged on to find the witch Solrina, and discovered that although imprisoned for centuries, her magical powers were still strong. Regardless, you eventually defeated her after a protracted battle, and recovered the hammer. In reward, Sir Delanit offered to enchant a magical weapon to flaming, and Brother Shekem offered a discounted mithril item for assisting in locating the vein.

---

XP: 1500 for Brottor, Illene, Kendrik (Illene spent 3 xp scribing scrolls), 1260 for Jarik

Loot:

• Hat of Disguise
• Potion of False Life
• Everything else sold for 1950 gp + 400 gp payment
• 3022 gp used on various purchases (including rebuying Buck’s barding)

Favours:

• Favour of Sir Delanit tir Rietmarcher
• Favour of Brother Shekem
• Brottor is no longer cursed!

---

Journeying back to Khundholm to help clear out the tunnels, your adventure started with a drunken party. The party didn’t last long, however – soon, news that Moradin’s forge was under attack filtered through, and you joined the call to arms. As part of the dwarven warband, your first assignment was to help dispatch some fire giants. The party soon learned that fire giants are tough bastards, even without their weapons, as Brottor was slain. A dwarven cleric was thankfully present to raise Brottor from the dead, although such magic comes at a cost.

Journeying onwards to rejoin the warband, you came across a carriage being driven at reckless speed by some derro. The wagon careened and crashed into the wall, and the derro opened fire. They were easily dealt with. However, inside the carriage, there lurked an explosive device of some sort – the part got out of the way just in time to avoid the huge explosion.

As you drew close to Moradin’s Forge, you met with some Azers, who gave you some information on the forge and the history of the Khund and derro. They were just there on a pilgrimage to the forge, however, and didn’t want to intervene. In the forge itself, a number of fire giants lay dead, but a variety of derro were engaged in battle against the Khund. Baradon himself was holding a bridge against them, although he looked to be being picked off by a derro sorcerer. You engaged the sorcerer, and after taking him out, the tide swung in the favour of the Khund, and the derro were soon routed.

In gratitude for your help in the defense of the forge, you were presented with an Adamantine Dwarven Waraxe.

---

XP: Brottor died and went back to 12500 XP, then gained 1500 xp for the adventure. Illene gained 1500 xp for the adventure, and Jarik gained 1200 xp.

Loot:

• Adamantine Dwarven Waraxe
• All other loot sold, including some magic items, in order to pay for raise dead. Net loss from adventure: 1448 gp

---

You were requested to investigate a suspicious death in the city of Exag. Following a variety of leads, you quickly decided that the Obstergraf Frau Glassen was almost certainly involved. Part of your investigations led you to the Den Zauber guild, which Illene was invited to join. Eventually, you decided that a break and enter plan was required, but were sidetracked by the hasty exit of a group of people from nearby stables. Giving chase, they led you to an ogre slaver band, and then a slave camp. Liberating the slaves, you took a peek inside the cave in the Yatil mountains that they were building a fort around, and discovered something of dwarven origin.

Heading into the complex, you discovered a whole labyrinth of caverns and tunnels, with directions carefully labelled in chalk. However, off in a side tunnel, you heard a heard sounds which turned out to be Derro torturing a pair of dwarves. Dispatching with the derro, you found that the dwarves were part of a royal lineage, who had come to reclaim their birthright. However, a curse was preventing them, and all dwarves, from doing so. It was Kendrik who blew the great horn that shattered the curse, and in doing so, was bestowed upon with the Blessing of Moradin.

The next morning, dwarves from all walks of life were beginning to gather in the halls of ancient Khundholm, and you set about chasing your original quarry. You eventually caught up with them in a geothermal valley, but alas, Frau Glaussen and the Den Zauber wizard implicated in the crimes teleported away, leaving only a pair of archers to deal with (and they quickly were). You recovered papers implicating Frau Glaussen in the murder, and headed back to Exag with the information. The Obstergraf was arrested, but the location of her wizard accomplice is unknown.

---

XP: 850 xp for Brottor, 1000 xp for everyone else.

Lootz:

• Kendrik upgraded his armour to +2.
• Sold loot for 4885 gp total profit
• Got paid 200 gp for helping out
• Found Eyes of the Eagle

Favours:

• Favour of the Khund
• Blessing of Moradin (Kendrik)

---

You were relaxing in a dockside tavern in Schwartzenbruin, enjoying hot chocolade that the kinder of Schwartzenbruin were shouting you to, when an odd person walked through the door. It wasa small kobold, wearing a beautiful purple cloak, carrying a staff with a dragon’s head carved into the top of it, and wearing a pink ribbon tied in a bow around her tail. She looked at you, decided you looked good enough for her purposes, and talked to you. Introducing herself as Conans the Barbarian, Mighty Sorceress and High Priestess of Azrinens, she said she wanted to hire you to travel to the Land of the Frost Barbarians to secure the trade rights to the legendary argentvorax furs. She said she’d give you her old Cloak of Charisma +2 as a reward. You were to talk to the Jarl of Jutgandgard to undertake the negotiations. She’d teleport you there, more or less, but you’d have to walk home. Kendrik asked for a token of favour to sweeten the negotiations, and Conans procured what she says was a magical holy symbol of Azrinens. One teleport error later, and you were on a beautiful tropical island. One more teleport later, and you were in the snow. Conans wished you good luck, and vanished.

You quickly came across the scene of a fight; a Frutzii (frost barbarian) was taking on two polar bears, who had already downed his companions. Defeating the polar bears (just), the Frutzii introduced himself as Charbel, and invited you to join him on his boat, sailing up to Jutgandgard. Arriving there, a feast was prepared to celebrate Charbel’s return, and you got an opportunity to talk to Endemuk, advisor to the Jarl. He said that the Jarl would award the trading rights to whoever defeated the spectral beasts that plagued his lands, but that there was already another party interested in it; a woman and some orcs. The next morning, you were accused of kidnapping the Jarl’s advisor, who had vanished. A ransom note was left for him. However, somebody had seen the abduction take place, and had followed the raiding party back to their camp, and offered to guide you there.

They were camping in a cave a few hours away. You easily dealt with the orcs, and even their wizard was no match for your prowess (although Jarik learnt about pit traps). Endemuk was quite pleased to be rescued, and the next day pointed you in the direction of the spectral beasts. It took a couple of days to find the beasts, but eventually you did, and you slaughtered them with ease. The Jarl was pleased, and offered you the trading rights, as well as a 400 gp bonus for saving his advisor. Charbel offered to represent the hunters of the argentvorax, and you negotiated a deal with him to Conans’s satisfaction.

Returning to Schwartzenbruin, carefully avoiding travel through Tenh, Conans was pleased with your efforts, and gave each of you with the Blessings of Azrinens.

---

XP: 1333 xp to Brottor, Kendrik, and Jarik

Loot:

• 400 gp in rewards
• Magical Holy Symbol of Azrien (you didn’t trade it in, so you get to keep it. Is anybody game to wear it?)
• Cloak of Charisma +2 (slightly used) (claimed by Kendrik)
• +1 Bracers of Armour
• 108 gp in miscellaneous loot from selling stuff
• Jarik wanted a quarterstaff. Go for it. It’s free. (Beatstick for Kendrik)

Other:

• Brottor, Kendrik and Jarik each receive the Blessing of Azrien (or as Conans would call it, the Blessings of Azrinens). Who knows what this might do?

---

Hanging out in Schwartzenbruin, you were approached by a group of children, who wanted you to investigate the terrible disappearance of Herr Mordenkainen, who made chocolate for them all! They gave you a number of leads to investigate, including a rival gang of kids (upper class snobs), and other bakers in the baker’s guild, who had cause for complaint. You checked out the shop and house, but found them empty. The horse at the back of the house looked like it hadn’t been cared for in a few days, and it was very talkative. The neighbours hadn’t heard from Herr Mordenkainen in a few days either, and said that it was unusual for them to vanish without letting somebody know. One of the neighbours suggested talking to Mordeknainen’s wife’s family, who had a farm a few miles away, who might know something (and also had a spare key).

The relatives could tell you the truth about Mordenkainen, who worked as the chocolate maker for the Mordenkainen in his Obsidian Citadel for a while, but was now based in Schwartzenbruin. He had taken on his master’s name in honour of his former employer. They gave you a key which was enchanted to unlock the doors in the house.

Investigating the house, you decided to search it from top to bottom. You came across the chocolate golem (the shop’s assistant and heavy lifter), and the gelatine ooze (the household cleaner). It was in the basement that you found Herr Mordenkainen, being tortured by an imp. Unable to fool you that he was anything greater than he actually was, you squished him straightforwardly. Herr Mordenkainen’s wife was found in the attic, which none of you figured out how to open in your previous search.

Thankful for being rescued, Herr Mordenkainen presented you with 7 kg of chocolate, to the value of 750 gp. The decision was to keep a third, sell a third, and give the kids a third.

---

XP: 400 to Katinka, Brottor, and Jarik.

Loot:

• 250 gp of income from selling chocolate, and Brottor and Jarik both have a chunk of chocolate in their stash :-)

Other:

• Brottor and Jarik have earned the Favour of Der Kinder of Schwartzenbruin

---

Having arrived safely back in Greyhawk City, you settled down to recuperate from your flight from Tenh. However, it wasn’t long before a man, Ungut, pleaded with you to journey back to Tenh with him to save his family, who were holed up in caves, stuck, and running out of food. After agreeing to help him, you were approached by another, who claimed to be an apprentice to a wizard at the Greyhawk wizards’ guild. He asked that you capture an Ether creature specimen so that his master could investigate them, and gave you a magical silver cage with which to do so.

You travelled by boat across the Nyr Dyv, and up the Artonsamay river. The land of Tenh, to the East of the river, was completely devoid of life, and strange occurrences cropped up, such as Jarik falling into an ethereal pool and becoming trapped on the ethereal plane. As you approached the caves where Ungut said his people were holed up, you were attacked by some more ether creatures.

The caves themselves were a strange affair, appearing to be ancient things carved out of a strange green stone. As you entered the caves, Jarik returned to the material plane. The caves held a number of women and children, as well as the enigmatic Wartoan, who kept on going on about the Dark One. The women and children were eager to leave, but Wartoan needed some convincing to let them, and even then, he wanted to stay behind. He had the following prophetic statements for you:

“And the two strong slaves lifted it from the back of the Beast. Thereupon I commanded the Brazen Portals to be brought low, and they were wrenched from their hinges and rang upon the stone. The Efreet howled in fear and fled when I caused the page to be read and the Beast passed into the City of Brass. Now was I, Tzunk, Master of the Plane of Molten Skies. With sure hand, I closed Yagrax’s Tome, dreading to…”

“I am not sure where Tzunk’s hands are, but in a dream, I saw a lone island in a sea of blue. It had buildings made of the same green stone as these walls, but there was no life on it. It sits alone for ages in the dark and the cold. Half in and half out of the dark waters that surrounded it, weighing down on it like death. It did not go with the others when they left. No, it stayed, stayed and guarded its burden. On it, a sword. A dark and terrible thing. It will lead you to him. Lead you to the Dark One. I hope that means something to you.”

When you left with the women and children, you were unmolested by the ether creatures, until you came to the river Artonsamay, where you saw a group of humans being chased by the ethers. You swiftly dealt with the critters, capturing one for the wizard back in Greyhawk. The soul surviving human turned out to be Ungut’s wife, although she was acting a little strangely. Illene soon spotted that she was magically compelled in some way, and together, you drove an etherleech from her body, and banished it back to its home plane. You then left Tenh, bound for Greyhawk once again.

---

XP: 500 xp to Brottor, Illene, Jarik and Katinka

Loot:

• 300 gp for returning a living ether creature to the wizard

---

Having met up with Katinka in a tavern in Schwartzenbruin, you travelled to the far-off land of Tenh, hoping to cash in on what seemed to be a lucrative black-opal trade. However, upon arriving in Vrennmii, you discover that it is well and truly under the occupation of the forces of Old Wicked. Strangely, all the resident demons apparently vanished about ten years ago, but nevertheless, the human (and orcish) occupation force rules with an iron fist. Of particular not was a mining camp to the West of the town, so you decided to go and check it out. However, on the way there, a strange event that signalled the beginning of an invasion of ether creatures occurred, and you were forced to race away from it, back towards the town.

In the town, you witnessed scenes of the buglike creatures eating whatever they could get their mandibles on, and whatever they ate, vanished. Avoiding engagement with the creatures as much as possible, you retreated to the one place in town where they would not pursue – the temple of Iuz. Inside the temple, you came across a priest of the Old One, Attlu, who said he knew of a way out of town, and should you work together, you might both live to escape this accursed place. He wanted to wait for the morning, however, as night would probably prove too dangerous. His slave visited you in the middle of the night.

The next day, you ran for the central tower of the city, which purportedly housed a teleportation circle or device. You battled some ether creatures along the way. Inside the tower, Attlu guided you to a secret door leading to the basement beneath, which had apparently been used a number of times recently. In the remains of a library, you squished a quasit, before passing through the cells down here, which now housed only decapitated prisoners. You approached the end of a long corridor, ending with a door. When the door was touched, it exploded, and Attlu and his slave turned on you. It turned out that the slave was the dangerous one here, and Attlu just the front for the pair, but nevertheless, you squished them easily.

Searching the rooms, you eventually found a secret chamber which housed the teleportation circle. It dumped you in the sewers somewhere. Nearby, you heard the sound of battle, and as you arrived, you saw a wizard who begged you to demolish the pillar holding up the room, to block the portal from which ether creatures were coming through. The wizard quickly died, overwhelmed by the ether creatures, leaving you to deal with them. You grabbed the wizard’s stuff, crushed the critters, and tore down the pillar, halting the spread of the Ether threat into Greyhawk City, whose sewers you were in.

---

XP: 1425 xp to Kendrik, 1240 xp to Brottor, Jarik, Illene and Katinka

Loot:
From Attlu’s corpse, you picked off:

• +1 Cloak of Resistance (claimed by Brottor)
• Ring of the Silver Tongue (claimed by Illene)
• +1 Glamered Breastplate (sells for 4175 gp, I assume nobody wants it?)
• 68 gp of miscellaneous loot

From the wizard’s backpack, you found:

• Armbands of Elusive Action (claimed by Kendrik)
• 150 gp

---

Finding no work in Krestible, you headed to Yatilskaad. There, some bedraggled caravan guards limped their way into town, citing a highway robbery by Kettite forces. Talking to the local Auszugen, you found your offer of searching out the attackers was welcomed. The attack was about half a day’s ride out of town, and you easily found it. Tracking the perpetrators, you were attacked by a trio of rapier wielding pathetics, whom were wererats, but you never found that out – they were wearing the uniform of the army of Ket, however. Further along the trail, you were attacked by ghasts (although you didn’t find that out, either), also in the uniform of the army of Ket. You discovered that ghasts are bad news, and camped out to recuperate from the attack. The next day, you continued following the trail, although it had grown a little old. You came across a clearing – the same one used by the band of Karl Hussen’s humanoids early on in the piece. A fiery woman was addressing her troops in draconic – Illene thinks that she’s a dragon. They left on some raid, leaving only the guy who got away and a couple of minions, who went back into the cave. Waiting for the army to leave, you entered the cave, and confronted the guy, who proved to be a pain in the arse, but also a complete pansy. His ghasts, on the other hand, were just a pain in the arse. Having defeated him, you looted, and returned to Krestible to be rewarded.

---

XP: Brottor picked up 1750 xp, Illene 807 (including scribing costs), Kendrick 1120, and Jarik 1870. That puts Illene and Jarik just over 5th level, and Kendrick just under 5th level. Brottor is about halfway to 6th.
GP: 550gp
Loot:

• Ring of Protection +1 (claimed by Illene)

---