High Level Campaign Chronicles Book 4

The PCs visited SMART, where they were asked to help deal with troublesome local xenophobic elves. After several skirmishes, the PCs forged a treaty, but had to perform a task to seal it. The task was to deal with an evil threat further into the mountains.

En route they were troubled by leprechauns, whom they learned to pay off with wine. They visited a ruined city (Tsarine, part of the long-vanished elven Empire of Five Cities) which they discovered was inhabited by ophidians, who had been enslaving hapless grugach elves.

They were attacked by mercenaries in the snake-men's hire, but killed them. They were also attacked by ogre mercenaries, one of whom slew himself drinking poison he thought was a potion. The others all drowned in druid-made mud. The PCs discovered the snake-men had cruelly hamstrung all their slaves.

After encountering a crypt thing the PCs were scattered throughout the dungeon.

(7/3/97) The PCs (other than Hubert, who was delayed in a pit, Shiralee, who was trapped above ground, and Alent, who was captured by Ophidians) managed to regroup. They found and slew a spirit naga, which turned out to be the ophidian's ally, but not their leader. Nathan found an elvish crown and royal signet.

After meeting Hubert, the ophidian stronghold was scouted and Alent was rescued. A successful attack was made. A female half-elf mage was taken prisoner and gagged. 2 persons were found in the cells, one dead. The other, Nesha, a female-half adventurer, killed the PC's prisoner, whom (she said) killed her friends. Nesha, actually an agent of Eclavdra, had not actually been a prisoner.

The slaves were all liberated, though some adventurers were left in a camp waiting for an escort into Furyondy. The PCs returned briefly to SMART, where Nesha joined the party, together with a rough-and-ready half-orc girl, Romilda.

Chapter 35: Into Furyondy

(12/4/97) The party split the portable treasure from Tsarine, leaving the heavy stuff in the care of a Spectator under Nathan's orders. The liberated ex-adventurer slaves were conducted by hirelings into Furyondy.

Hubert was confronted by an older version of himself, from whom the Bold Sword had come. He'd come to get it, and Hubert (junior) gave it up.

Zephyr collected extra followers from the Northlands, then scouted Hondheir alone, meeting Capt. Hess and Lt. Daniken, officers of the Graf. She returned with the entire party 2 days later, in the wake of a combined attack on the city led by giants. Celene was implicated as the instigator of the attack.

After an audience with Hess and Graf Pfalzer, the party split up to gather information. Zeph met Madwen (cleric of Diancecht) and a fanatically anti-Furyondy half-elf. Cathbad departed. Zephyr was poisoned by a pair of humans with ophidian venom on their swords and attacked by an anti-elf mob. She was rescued by Skorus, a good samaritan, but not before several of her magic items had been looted.

Zephyr and Orion headed for Celene, only to be delayed when they rescued Jedediah (Zeph's old mentor) and his friends from well-armed orcs. Jed died and left Zeph a package. The mission to Celene yielded no information regarding official Celenite involvement in the attacks in Furyondy. They met Trayne (apparently a student at Seasky College in Metahelion), who explained the situation to them, which was that recent events had suggested Furyondian agent provocateurs were at work, and that the elvish rulership had little time for humans and "half-breeds".

Meanwhile the party led by Nathan met with the Graf again, who asked them to attack the giant chief's (Nosrna) base. They agreed. Zeph and Orion returned in time for the departure.

Chapter 36: Strike on the Hill Giants' Hall

(11/5/97) Following the map to Nosrna's stronghold given them by the Graf, the PCs in poor weather encountered a large, crude wooden keep. Hubert investigated, and found it full of ogres and human prisoners. A sneak attack was planned, and the horses and heavy gear picketed nearby. Hubert murdered the tower sentry ogre, then he and Romilda wrestled the gate open. Ogres and giants came running, but the ogres died in a fireball. Shiralee was hurled into a wolverine pit and rescued by Zephyr, who also neutralised the poison on a crossbow quarrel which hit Nathan. Humans who were inside the fort sneaked out the back and attempted to steal the PCs' horses, but Candace and Zephyr slowed them down. Their leader, Lodz, negotiated, and they turned over their loot in return for their release with their other equipment.

The human prisoners were given the loot found within (taken from the human lands) and set free. In the morning, the PCs moved on.

Near Nosrna's stronghold a cave was marked on the map. It was well-suited to being used as a base, and the PCs occupied it. Zephyr scouted the giant stronghold in bird shape, revealing an enormous wooden hall with a courtyard full of dire wolves, and a single giant in a watchtower.

Hubert, Nesha, Zephyr and Orion entered the hall via the tower, killing the watch giant. Passing two more sleeping giants (whom they ignored), they view the central chamber, where dozens of giants and ogres were eating, served by human and orc slaves. A plan was made, and an attack mounted, largely by magic. Within a few minutes, all the giants and ogres were dead, plus 5 more ogres who had arrived during the fun. The servitors were dead or gone.

(21/8/97) Nathan and Shiralee separately entered the hall by stealth. They explored the eastern part of the hall, while the others explored the west. Eventually they met. The other chambers in the hall were strangely untenanted, at least of giants. Several hidden treasures were found. A broad stair to a lower level was discovered from the kitchens, and two injured orcs (beaten by the giantess cooks) told Romilda that many giants and ogres had descended the stairs once the battle had begun in the feast hall.

Preferring not to enter the dungeon immediately, the adventurers searched the entirety of the above-ground works, except for the rear shed, which lay beyond the courtyard containing 14 dire wolves. A second stair was found, hidden behind the chief's council chamber, as was a letter written in Hill Giant. Zephyr partially deciphered it, and it proved to be instructions to Nosrna on how to proceed in his attacks, from someone called "Eclavdra". The party bivouacked in the feast hall, while Nathan made a great pile of possibly magic items. Entering a previously unexplored chamber, he was attacked by a mighty cave bear, which nearly crushed him before he could plunge his sword into it and slay it.

During their sleep period, several orcs were seen to peek into the chamber. They were pursued, and slain, except for a single prisoner. He admitted to Romilda that they'd been sent to obtain "a great treasure" which they couldn't find, although they knew which room it was in. In exchange for his life, the orc revealed which room, and also general directions downstairs (i.e. orc slaves kept locked up to the south and south-west, the giants are gathered to the north). He also suggested that the orcs, if released, might fight their oppressors. He was released, and the PCs discovered the treasure the orcs had sought: the sword of the fallen cloud giant, Niflor, a sentient giantslayer.

Entering the dungeon level, the PCs found and released several dozen orcs, some of whom revealed to Romilda the locations of bugbear guards. The others fled to the surface and away. The giants and ogres who'd taken refuge from above were found, and in a mighty battle all were slain, despite a counter-attack by a trio of stone giant miners.

A cell block was found, and in it several prisoners: a human engineer-architect, an elf warrior-mage, and a group of rebellious orcs. These orcs aided the PCs when they were immediately thereafter assaulted by dozens of catfooted bugbears, though three of the five orcs were slain, and Romilda and the elf were seriously wounded.

After a night holed up with guards posted, the party healed their wounds and systematically searched the dungeon. A tribe of escaped slaves, mostly orcish but some human or demi-human, were discovered living deep within natural caves connected to the dungeon. Peaceful, though tense negotiations were conducted, and the tribesmen gave the party some useful information before being guided to the surface and freedom.

The discovery of a number of hidden papers was significant. Among them were plans for further attacks, and a letter promising support and rewards for the attacks, signed only with an E.

Chapter 37: War and Yancy

Returning toward Hondheir, the party discovered that the country was up in arms. Apparently an army of elves had crossed the southern border and was marching on the city, with grim intent. With difficulty an audience with the Graf was obtained, and it was told that the elves had gone to war on the pretext of a royal kidnapping - which crime the Graf angrily denied any complicity in or knowledge of. The regional militia, bolstered by cavalry from the capital and the beserkers' brotherhood, marched out to meet the elves.

Nathan rode directly toward the elvish army, a dozen leagues distant. The elvish warriors were grim-faced and proud, and paid his words little heed. He produced the elvish crown he'd found in Tsarine and donned it in an effort to be heard, but this act enraged the elves. A nearby unit of unicorn cavalry attempted to run him down, but he was rescued by Orion before he could be killed.

Meanwhile Zephyr tried to gain an audience with the commander of the Furyondian troops. It was revealed that the Furyondian crown prince, recently scarred by an elvish assassin, had arrived to take charge, at the head of a column of armoured knights. He was unreceptive to the PCs' message of peace and delays. Sadly, it appeared that war was imminent.

At the same time, Hubert (exercising more diplomacy than he'd shown to rulers in the past) gained an audience with the Celenic leadership. The general, Duke Seth, told him his niece Yancy had been kidnapped by Furyondians disguised as bandits, and that until she was returned there was no hope for peace. Departing, he encountered Loroly Kikura, Nathan's mother, engaged as a scout to the elves. She gave him a message for her son.

Deciding that they could not hope to head off war without producing the kidnapped elf-girl, the PCs used magic to trace her whereabouts. Divination suggested that she was a prisoner in an ice cave in the mountains. With all speed, and utilising winged mounts, the PCs set off.

In a rift in a high mountain glacier, the PCs found danger and reward in equal amounts. Alent slipped and fell to his death, a fall of fifty fathoms. The conditions, slippery, chilling, and foggy were a hinderance. After nearly a day of exploring and fighting unpleasant locals, the PCs defeated an arctic worm in a pitched battle. In the aftermath, Hubert found a ring of wishes. Keeping it hidden, he used it to lead the party to Yancy's prison and to defeat her dragon guardian. She was taken immediately back to Furyondy.

Sadly, the battle had begun. Several hundred casualties had already been suffered on either side, with no clear advantage gained, when the PCs arrived and quickly briefed both commanders. A truce was arranged, followed by the withdrawal of the elvish forces to their border.

No clue regarding the reasons for the conflict had been found. More news arrived: Celene was at war again, this time on their eastern border, with Veluna.

Chapter 38: War in the East

A strikingly familiar story was found when the PCs arrived in Faundale, in Celene near the border. Attacks made on Celene from the tiny state of Corcorran had led to retaliation, but Corcorran was protected by Velunese treaties. At the same time, elvish assassins had tried to raise an insurrection against the (admittedly unpopular) theocratic Velunese government in Mitrik. Mitrik had responded by declaring war on Celene, and while it had not made any major attacks, Celenic citizens in Veluna had been interned, and letters of marque were being issued to make war on Celenic shipping. Skirmishing was taking place in the border region, where loosely reined commanders were seizing opportunities or exceeding their orders, on both sides.

Once again, the PCs lacked the official recognition to give their message of peace impact. They were ignored, and then interned in Faundale, as most of their group were half-elves (and thus, to the elves, suspect) or non-elves. Escaping with the aid of the sympathetic Duchess, the PCs made their way to the border, where Zephyr gained them safe passage into Veluna - not through magic, but through her name. Her brother Fafnor held a captaincy at the border, and was well-loved by the Velunese troops.

In Mitrik the PCs found things just as bad. The theocrats had decided to root out any rebels, or potential rebels, and a security crackdown was in place. The High Arbiter was not suaded by the PCs' representations, and the noble titles they carried from a few years earlier stood against them, as they represented a link to the old feudal regime, since overturned by the theocrats, and now linked to the rebel forces. Again narrowly avoiding imprisonment, the PCs departed the city and travelled to the Corcorran. Here, as in Celene, their movements were facilitated by Hubert's agents, deployed months earlier to gather information.

The Corcorran was occupied by frost giants and their cohorts, or roamed by them at will. The halflings and gnomes of the region, though defiant, lacked the strength to repel them. They did provide information and assistance to the PCs, following Hubert's covert visit to the secret High King of the Corcorran (a region which is thought to lack a war leader, and is thus not regarded by its neighbours as a threat). Directions to the frost giants' fortress in the icy mountains were provided: the same place Yancy had been held prisoner. The PCs went forth and did battle.

Once the ruling frost giant chieftain and his forces had been defeated, and several other prisoners rescued, protected chambers were ransacked and clues located. Proof was found of the deceit used to start the war, and this was carried to both Faundale and Mitrik: and a truce was warily called. The attacks had been organised by the giants, at the behest of the mysterious Eclavdra. War between Celene and everyone else was the objective, first in the west, then in the east. Alliances between giant clans and even other races, such as ogres, were mentioned. And means by which the characters could reach Eclavdra's location were also found. They were used. It was, the PCs felt, time to finish it.

Chapter 39: Eclavdra

The PCs arrived among hot, smoking mountains, which Nathan estimated lay not too far from the previous location, still north of Celene and east of Furyondy. An immense fortress was built into one of the volcanoes, and into it went the party.

It was the stronghold of the fire giant king, Snurre. He was one of the first to die. The denizens of the upper level soon died or fled downwards, though an error by Hubert with a potion led him to fight briefly for the giants, causing his companions to be vexed. Callam, a dwarf rescued from the hill giants, knocked him senseless with a mailed fist. The enchantment was soon dispelled.

The lower levels proved more of a challenge. The giants who'd fled served to bolster the ranks of those below, and it seemed that someone was providing skilled leadership. Orion used his powers to investigate, then to decimate the giants' reserves, but his luck ran out and he was killed by a flying stone. Similarly, Nathan, sneaking to investigate the giants' leadership, was exposed by a mysterious spellcaster and fought a desperate withdrawal. Only divine intervention could reunite the party and save them all, which it did.

The characters took stock. With Snurre dead, this threat was ended, though who knew what the evil and unseen Eclavdra could produce next. In the end the point was moot: Eclavdra, whoever she was, had fled with her minions deep into the earth. Traces of drow activity were found, and the PCs remembered the links between the Slavery Lords and the drow.

Chapter 40: Parting of the Ways

With the threat over, Zephyr and Nathan decided to part. His recent dealings with Celene, and his discovery of his claim to the throne, gave him solid reason to stay. Zephyr, now one of the most senior druids in the land, had duties and responsibilities from the Eastern Protectorate to Mythegonia, far away. They clasped hands, swore friendship, and parted.

With Zephyr went Alent and Orion. With Nathan, Hubert and Romilda.

After Zephyr had departed, but while the others remained yet in the wreckage of Snurre's fortress, they encountered a strange old man. He invited them to rest, and spoke to them of a task - no quest this, a matter of a world in peril. Strangely, all the PCs slept. Time passed.

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