It is the 19th day of Scorch in the season of High Sun of the Year of Priest’s Defiance in the 190th King’s Age.

Tyr is a city-state in chaos, and paradigms across Athas are snapping. Kalak, one of the nearly omnipotent sorcerer-kings, is dead. A band of rebels, now known as the Deposers of Kalak, laid low the centuries old tyrant. In the wake of the great arcanist’s downfall, the city’s oppressive order has crumbled. Factions struggle for power, snatching at scraps of influence and wealth as templars, Kalak’s agents, struggle to reassert civic authority. Howls of anarchy mix with the joyous whoops of freed slaves in a cacophony that has yet to quiet since the world was turned on its head.

A Change in Plans
The outcasts Morg and Vinara arrived at the city of Tyr hoping to find food and supplies for the encampment in the Ringing Mountains. Instead they found the city in chaos following the death of the sorcerer-king Kalak, and their hopes were dashed as the turmoil made all resources precious and unobtainable. Hoping to make some money and journey to a more stable city, they hired on with an elven caravan headed to the city of Altaruk…

The Elf Gwyn, hoping to find contacts within the city to aid in her training, found only chaos within the city walls. Inadvertently crossing a couple of well-connected thieves, the city became more dangerous to her than the wastelands. Trying to escape the city undetected, she hired on with an elven merchant of the Moonrunner tribe to guard a caravan heading to the city of Altaruk…

Road to Altaruk
The heroes gathered with the caravan master, Kaldras, outside the city walls and the caravan formed up. The cargo, made up of unassuming ceramic wares, was loaded onto two large kanks and they headed southeast towards their destination. Travelling on foot, the elves kept their distance from the hired guards. Morg, Vinara and Gwyn tried their best to keep up with the fast insects and elves.

The party crossed stony barrens, avoiding the many landslides through a combination of luck and skill, and made their way into the sandy wastes in just over day. Pushing through the deadly sandstorms, freezing nights and blistering days, they managed to not lose their way in the dunes. The dunes gave way into twisting canyons in the badlands on the third day.

Raider Attack
Within hours of entering the badlands the caravan came under attack by a small group of raiders and their slaves. Barely alerted to their approach by falling rocks, the elves hid with the kanks, letting their hired guards deal with the threat.

Moving quickly Morg and Vinara, with her pet Bear, moved to engage the raiders in melee, while Gwyn stayed back. The group made quick work of the slaves, Morg’s axes cutting down several in one blow each. Vinara and Bear helping to protect the cargo from being taken by the flankers. Gwyn slew one of the raiders with a jet of flame she conjured. Although it appeared to be elemental, Morg recognized it as arcane magic.

Recovering from the attack, the caravan regrouped and continued on to Altaruk. Able to reach the city in the morning, Kaldras dispatched one of his sons to run ahead and alert the tribe members of his pending arrival.

Kaldras’s Betrayal
After the long march from Tyr the caravan finally arrived at the city of Altaruk in the early morning. At the gates Kaldras was able to move quickly past the guards with a few well placed bribes and the caravan reached the Elven Market. With the heroes helping to unload the kanks, Kaldras and the elves made arrangements sell their cargo and pay the heroes.

When the elves emerged from the tents, Vinara was quick to notice that they were fingering their blades rather than their coin purses. Alerted to possible trouble, the group was not surprised when a number of elf snipers emerged from the surrounding tents along with several kank spitters. Combat ensued as the elves attempted to subdue the heroes. A decisive blow by Morg, which nearly separated Kaldras’s arm from his shoulder, demoralized the elves. Before the raging barbarian could finish off the elves, the city guards appeared, along with their captain, ordering a halt to the hostilities.

The Captain, a human named Tellemon, who wielded a steel blade, demanded an explanation for the disturbance. Unmoved by the heroes story of betrayal by Kaldras, but not totally trusting the elves, Tellemon ordered the matter to be settled in the arena. With that, the city guards took both the heroes and the elves into the holding pens.

Coins in the Coffer
Locked in cells of the arena barracks, the heroes received their instructions for the games. The two groups were to engage in non-lethal combat by taking large ceramic coins from the center of the arena to one of the large stone coffers at the edge. Each coin scored the team one point, the team with the most points at the end of allotted time wins the arena game and will be judged to have been been telling the truth about the altercation in the Elven Market.

During this preparation time Morg used his gift in the Way to eavesdrop on the elves and learn part of the strategy they intended to employ against the heroes. Without more delay the elves were lead out of the barracks, with the party following a few minutes behind.

The arena has been planted with razor-sharp brambleweed, making it dangerous to move across many parts of the arena floor. A gong sounded the beginning of the contest and both sides moved quickly to gather coins, intercepting the opposing team and stealing coins from the other teams coffer. During the first few minutes Vinara manages to disable a few of the elves using the brambleweed and Gwyn had deposited several coins. A twist in the contest occurred when two large spiders were set free in the arena and begin harassing both groups. Morg decides to distract a spider attacking Gwyn and provide her with more coins by hurling the coins from the center of the arena to the edge.

After the alloted time, the final gong sounded and the heroes were victorious, with a last minute coin swap and steal from Vinara. Disappointed at the loss of the potential slaves as well as the humiliation of being defeated in the arena, the Moonrunner elves paid their fines and skulked off. The heroes were greeted by Tellemon who congratulated them on the victory and complemented them on their use of original tactics. Before departing, he invited them to his villa for dinner that evening for a small social gathering.

Dinner with the Captain
After being released from the arena the heroes split up to take care of personal business within Altaruk before meeting at Tellemon’s villa for the dinner gathering. Morg and Vinara traveled back to the Elven Market where they were able to secure supplies for the encampment in the Ringing Mountains with a shipment of goods purchased from House Wavir. Gwyn spent time searching for signs of those who could help continue her training and then smartened up before dinner.

At Tellemon’s villa the heroes enjoyed an excellent meal and learned more about Tellemon and his views on the situation in Tyr, the governor of Altaruk and arcane magic. The others at the party echoed his views that the chaos in Tyr was a terrible consequence of the Deposers of Kalak’s actions and no good comes from disrupting the order.

The party was interrupted when a messenger arrived telling one of the guests, a Dwarf named Rhotan Vor of House Wavir, of a missing caravan. Morg, using the Way to overhear the conversation, offered to help find the caravan in exchange for regular shipments of supplies to his encampment. Agreeing in principle, the Heroes stayed at Tellemon’s villa and headed out in the morning.

Hunting Party
The heroes set forth the next morning to try and find the missing caravan. The day quickly became brutally hot and although the sandstorms had subsided during the night, there was still a sweltering breeze.

After a few hours of searching the party located some wagon tracks in jumble of boulders and creosote bushes. Unfortunately, the heroes were not alone, and if not for Vinara’s keen senses, the party would have been ambushed by a small pack of silt runners. Although the battle was fierce, the heroes prevailed and none of the silt runners remained.

Plundered Wagon
After a short rest, the search for the wagon continued. With no luck for several hours, the party was about to give up, when the wagon, half buried by sand, was spotted in a jumble of rocks. From the distance there was no sign of the cargo or the drivers, instead the wagon was crawling with a large number of creatures with chitinous shells and spike-like claws, Kruthik. They were so focused on picking over the wagon and chattering to each other that the heroes were not immediately spotted.

Seizing the opportunity, Morg and Vinara managed to sneak close without detection. In unison they charged the largest creature while Gwyn unleashed her magic. Taken by surprise the beast was severely wounded before it knew what happened. Though they fought well, the tenacious creatures managed to inflict many wounds on the heroes before finally falling.

While they rested the heroes discovered more tracks and drag marks leading further into the hills. Although they were nearly spent, they were too close to their goal to give up, and so they continued on.

Broken Tower
The tracks ended at the weathered ruins of an ancient tower. Although nothing remained above ground, a flight of stone stairs were found in the foundation, which ended at a set of wide doors. Fearless, Morg opened the doors revealing a large vault which was home to a small band of silt runners and a Ssurran.

The battle was fierce as the ssurran demonstrated strong mental powers and the silt runners wielded poisoned blades. It took every last ounce of strength the heroes could muster to finally defeat their reptilian adversaries, but they were eventually victorious. Unable to continue, the party found shelter in the vault.

Throughout the vault the heroes were able to recover the majority of the caravan’s cargo and three of the four drivers (the final driver having been the last meal of the silt runners). After resting, the heroes, along with the drivers Milos, Alia and Flaron salvaged all they could and made the journey back to Altaruk.

Matinée of Webs
After returning from the rescue of the House Wavir caravan, the heroes took a few days to recover from their ordeals. Gwyn continued her search for the elusive Veiled Alliance, trusting her friends with her secret. Although she was able to learn a little information that suggested the Alliance did indeed have a chapter in Altaruk, she was unable to uncover much more information.

She decided that the best course of action was to covertly display her magical skills in a more public venue, in the hopes of being noticed by a member of the Veiled Alliance. She and her friends Morg and Vinara signed up for the next available arena match in the city. Their previous victory in the arena gave them the clout needed to be accepted and their match was scheduled for that afternoon.

The late afternoon sun made the stench from the day’s games almost unbearable as they stepped into the arena. The arena had been reworked with half a dozen large columns having been erected, each adorned with razor sharp obsidian spines. Between the columns, massive spiderwebs obscured their view. At the sound of the gong, their opponents, four Gith armed with javelins and spears, entered the arena. Vinara noticed one section of the arena floor shifting and suspected one or more ambush spiders lying in wait.

One of the gith, using its talent with the Way, teleported to the top of one of the columns and began hurling down javelins. The gith moved forward and met the gladiators with spears, however each fell quickly to Morg, Vinara and Bear. Gwyn used her magic to attack the remaining gith with a orb of radiant energy, wounding him badly. However the lurking spiders launched an ambush attack on Morg and Gwyn, wounding each with their poisonous bites. With a mighty blow, Morg split his spider in two, and Gwyn nearly killed her’s with another spell, knocking into the column and impaling it on the spines, to the great joy of the crowd. It was quickly finished off by Morg who then turned to the remaining gith on the column. Eventually it fell to the hail of weapons from the three gladiators.

Murder at the Games
As the gladiators stood victorious after their match, the cheers from the crowd turn into frightened shrieks. Over the cacophony the words “Murder! Guards, help!” could be heard. Within moments guards began to clear the stands and the gladiators were hurried into the staging area and were told to stay put. After waiting for an hour, a hooded half-elf appeared and introduced himself as Selonius, an agent of governor Arisphistaneles.

Selonius informed the group that Tellemon had been killed and that the governor was worried an insider might be involved. The group was charged with investigating the murder and bringing the criminal to the governor’s estate for questioning. They agreed and began a search of the arena and Tellemon’s body and questioned a few witnesses that were detained.

Vinara’s investigations revealed that Tellemon was killed by a poisoned blade, and that the poison was magical in nature. Gwyn, sensing the magic, located the dagger, poison still on the blade, with a cloth glowing with arcane glyphs. Morg strong-armed the witnesses who professed their innocence and claimed that a large man in a white tunic was next to Tellemon just before he died. The guards at the arena exit mentioned seeing a similar individual heading towards the barracks district.

In the barracks district, the off-duty guards were drinking, playing games of chance and participating in contests of strength. Morg eagerly joined in the drinking games, earning the respect of the guards with his fortitude. Meanwhile Gwyn mingled with the guards and learned that a dwarf had been asking questions about Tellemon earlier that day. The dwarf matched the description of a beggar they had encountered their first day in the city. Vinara spotted the dwarf and the group began to tail him.

After almost loosing the dwarf, the group eventually caught up with him in a training hall, talking to a large mul gladiator. Moving close to use his exceptional hearing, Morg overheard a brief exchange and then was spotted. Trying to escape, the dwarf was cutoff by Vinara and Gwyn, while Morg engaged the other gladiator. Although the fight was short, both sides suffered injuries, but the dwarf eventually surrendered along with the gladiator. Under interrogation the dwarf admitted to having the gladiator kill Tellemon, but claimed that if he hadn’t done so, Tellemon would have killed the governor. Both were brought before Arisphistaneles for questioning.

At the governors estates it was revealed that the dwarf, named Birk Suntouched was an associate of the governors, and that both were members of the Veiled Alliance chapter in Altaruk. Birk told the governor that the death of Tellemon was needed because the captain of the guard was spear-heading a True cabal plot to assassinate Arisphistaneles, whose leadership in the Veiled Alliance had become known. The gladiator, Arnye is exonerated for killing Tellemon to protect the governor and the group gains his trust and gratitude. Gwyn is given the chance to undergo the initiation tests to join the governor’s chapter of the Veiled Alliance.

The Mission
After they learned that Governor Arisphistaneles was the leader of the Veiled Alliance chapter in the city of Altaruk, the heroes were asked to decide whether or not to side with them and oppose the socerer-kings. The sorceress Gwyn had been trained by member of the Alliance and she hated the defilers. Morg, a former slave in Gulg, had no love of the sorcerer-kings had no reason to reveal the governors secret. The druid Vinara, already empowered by the primal spirits had interests aligned with the Alliance.

Pleased that he would not have to take radical action to preserve his position, the Governor tasked the group with making a journey to the city-state of Tyr to discover how the sorcerer-king Kalak was killed. Although the situation in Tyr had apparently become more calm, there was little information on the actual events that lead to Kalak’s death. What was known was that the former High Templar Tithian along with a noble named Agis and several slaves were involved.

If the heroes could discover how Kalak was overthrown, other city-states could be freed from their bondage.

Escape the Storm
Several days later the heroes joined a large caravan of House Wavir on it journey to Tyr, posing as guards. The large Inix made slow progress during their first day but Gwyn still found it difficult to keep up, despite her elven traits. During the night, as the group ate its evening meal, a subtle meteor showered appeared in the sky, portending dire events. Gwyn recalled that the last time such a shower was seen was the night before her former master, Gavin.

The next day, a sandstorm erupted early in the morning and quickly turned deadly. The scouring sand was filled with unnatural obsidian shards that tore through the travelers and pierced the thick hide walls of the wagon, shredding the cargo. Familiar with the power of nature, Vinara recognized that only a powerful ritual could bring about such a storm. Gwyn told her companions of her masters death during a similar storm.

After a few hours the winds lessened enough to make it possible to leave their shelter. They were greeted to a gruesome sight, the rest of the caravan had been destroyed by the storm and all the supplies were scattered across the desert. From the swirling dust emerged a number of silt runners and shapes within the dust suggested more were in the area.

Unable to stay within the wreckage of the caravan the heroes attempted to quickly gather supplies and escape the hordes of silt runners. Morg and Gwyn moved to engage the reptiles, picking up what supplies they could, while Vinara focused on supporting them and getting supplies before they took flight. The battle with the silt runners took its toll on the heroes, especially Gwyn, but before they fled they managed to collect enough supplies to ensure their survival in the harsh desert.

Elemental Assistance
Keeping the darkened sky of the obsidian storm behind them and moving far from any known trade routes, the adventurers began to approach the foothills of the Ringing Mountains. The day was brutally hot and the they were forced to keep a quick pace to stay ahead of the storm. Morg’s endurance allowed him to endure with little hardship while Vinara’s knowledge of nature and Gwyn’s athleticism allowed them to make good time. The party saw an oasis in the distance but recognized it as a mirage before too much time was wasted.

From a vantage point, they saw a valley littered with the exotic bones from long-extinct creatures. In a clearing, a mass of flames appeared and began beckoning them towards it. Vinara sent her companion, Bear, to investigate, as they were unsure about the potentially dangerous situation. Vinara sensed that the fire spirit was not dangerous and the group descended into the valley.

The spirit was able to communicate with Vinara and told her his tale…

I am a Spirit of the Flame, an elemental force. I once walked Athas as you do, patrolling these lands as a protector of life. I collected here centuries ago, shortly after the lush Athasian lands were destroyed by warfare. Now I am bound to this place by strong elemental forces unknown to me, awaiting the return of another Green Age to free me.

These bones are the victims of the Dragon – sacrifices made to the beast in order to appease it and preserve the cities. Each year thousands die, consumed by the Dragon to fuel its magic. It has been nearly a year since the last sacrifices were made, soon the Dragon will come to claim more sacrifices.

Athas ruined by the defilers and they must be defeated before the new Green Age can come about. You have the potential to bring about the restoration of Athas, but only a collective effort by all Athasians can restore Atha’s lands to their long-lost fertility.

During the spirits conversation with Vinara, Morg and Gwyn examined the bones. Morg sense they they had some residual primal magic, which might be used to treat some of their injuries. While they were collecting the bones, they began to notice the ground trembling slightly.

With a puff of smoke and the stench of brimstone, the fire spirit winked out of existence and the rumbling ground heaved to reveal a small swarm of kanks. With their feet clicking against the rocky terrain and bones they moved to attack the adventurers. The soldier and spitters ruthlessly attacked using their paralyzing poison to great effect on Vinara and Gwyn. Morg’s dwarf heritage allowed him to ignore the effects of the poison as he cleaved through the insects. Although they managed to defeat the kanks without too much trouble, their exertions began to take their toll, with Gwyn virtually exhausted.

Fruits of the Desert
With only a few moments to catch their breath, the obsidian storm was nearly on them, and the adventurers were forced to continue their flight. Morg’s athleticism helped his companions through increasingly treacherous terrain while Vinara continued to find the best routes through the canyons. Gwyn utilized her arcane talents to try and cover their tracks. Despite the treacherous terrain them managed to gain a good lead on the storm.

In the badland’s canyons, the adventurers lost track of the obsidian shower briefly. They stumbled upon a ripened cactus plant bearing fruit, but as they caught their breath, they were set upon by a group of human wasteland nomads clad is strange bone masks. The nomads, and their tamed spiretop drake, had the adventurers surrounded with bows drawn.

Fortunately for the adventurers, the nomads were more interested in the supplies they carried and maintaining their secret location. After a tense negotiation the two groups reached a compromise: Heroes gave several days worth of supplies and left the fruit, promising to leave quickly so the storm wouldn’t hit the nomads camp and not reveal the location of the nomads. In exchange the nomads granted them safe passage and gave them an enchanted amulet and axe. The goods were exchanged with the aid of the drake, who took a liking to Gwyn, and both groups left as night began to fall.

Devilish Dust
Despite nightfall, the heroes continued to press on, fearful that the Obsidian Storm would catch them. The cold desert mountain night tested their endurance, but persevered and managed to stay ahead of their pursuers. As the first morning light began to appear, a small campfire was noticed and in need of a short rest they decided to investigate.

Sitting near the campfire was an old dwarf who was surprised when the group announced themselves. Morg conversed with the dwarf in his own language asking about the dwarf and telling him of their encounters with the obsidian storm.

My name is Ralo and I was once a miner in the iron mines of Tyr, but my mine was destroyed by a frightening band of brigands known as Hejkin. They burrow through the earth and have a particular dislike for arcanists, even preservers such as myself, and pointy-eared folk.

Sandstorms are commonplace here, but I’ve never seen obsidian rain from the sky before. I have heard tales of a twisted lizardfolk shaman called the Wastewalker who uses storms and other primal forces of the destert to destroy arcane magic users. It could be that you’ve aroused his wrath somehow.

The heroes and Ralo came up with a plan to avoid the obsidian storm by using caves in the area to hide out. Ralo led the way deeper into the mountains where there were likely to be caves. Along the way Gwyn learned some of his magic that he used to escape detection while out in the desert.

After several hours of travel, dust began to kick up all around the party, swirling in ever denser patterns. Steeling themselves against the alkaline taste of the sand in their mouths the heroes were suddenly set upon by the desert itself. The blowing sand coalesced into three whirlwinds which attacked Vinara, Morg and Ralo, while a lizardfolk magus attacked Gwyn from a distance.

Hampered by the blinding dust of the whirlwinds, the heores attacks were much less effective. Vinara, who was able to resist the blinding sands of the whirlwinds, was able to dispatch her foe and assisted Ralo. Morg was able to quickly defeat his attacker but ended up being pushed into a pool of deep silt while helping Ralo and was immobilized. Gwyn was able to defeat the magus with a conjured orb of poison.

After the whirlwinds were defeated, the group attempted to interrogate the shaman before the poison finished its work, however none spoke the creatures hissing language. Just then the small drake they had encountered earlier descended and perched near Gwyn, who was then able to make out some of the creatures words. He was apparently sent by the Wastewalker to find and kill Ralo and Gwyn. He then died, a combination of the poison and a sharp blow to the head by Gwyn’s staff.

Backs Against the Wall
Ralo continued to lead them on into the mountains, searching for the cave entrance. The day was particular dusty and windy, with no relief from the heat of the day. After a few hours their path was blocked by the sheer face of a cliff which towered above. Although the obsidian storm still pursued them throughout the day, it halted it’s advance when the reached the cliff face. In the distance hissing and screeching could be heard while Ralo continued to look for the cave entrance.

With little surprise, the group was set upon by four lizardfolk who attacked with spears and javelins, causing severe injuries to Morg and Vinara. The leader of the ssurrans called forth the power of the sun which barely missed Gwyn and blasted the sand at her feet into glass. The tide of the fight turned with the arrival of a giant scorpion which Vinara was able to influence into attacking the shaman. With the ssurrans distracted by the insect, the heroes made short work of them without taking any more serious injuries.

When the lizardfolk were defeated, the scorpion turned on the heroes, Vinara’s influence broken by the creatures hunger for food. Weakened by the ssurrans, the scorpion was slain in short order. The obsidian storm clouds began to move in again, but Ralo was able to locate the secret cave entrance and they fled underground, and were finally able to rest after their long journey across the desert.

A Broken Bridge
Trapped by the obsidian storm outside, the heroes decided to trade the perils of the wastes for the unknown of a cool, dark cave. Ralo used his magic to create a light as they moved deeper into the underground passageway, and they noticed the caves were not entirely natural. Steps have been carved in the rock to make the route easier and many of the tunnels have been widened. As the heroes passed through larger area, they noticed ruined relics of log ago adorning the walls. Closer examination revealed that these items are likely debris dropped by vandals who previously raided here.

Moving through the caverns, the party reached a large chamber where the air defied their expectations. Instead of the harsh hot air of the desert, the air here was fresh and a slight breeze cooled their backs. Ahead a crude rope bridge was strung across a wide underground canyon. On the other side, a glimmering of metallic objects was barely visible.

Not trusting the rope bridge, Morg climbed down into the canyon in order move to the other side. In doing so, he uncovered a section of the floor containing a sink hole, narrowly escaping being trapped. On the other side he began an examination of the treasure pile, while Gwyn and Vinara examined the bodies.

Without warning, a wave of cold necrotic energy washed over the area and the shriveled bodies of what might have been adventurers began to twitch and quiver, attacking Ralo. At the same instant an incorporeal creature appeared before Morg, pulling the heat out of his body and then vanishing again. Behind Vinara, a large oozing creature dropped from the ceiling and attempted to entrap her, its body beginning to dissolve her armor.

The corpses emitted a foul stench, nauseating all those nearby, and possessed unnatural vitality causing their wounds to regenerate. They mercilessly attacked Ralo, who fell to their claws, and when the others managed to defeat them, they exploded in a blast of gore and necrotic energy. The ooze slowly worse down Vinara who fell unconscious and would have perished without the aid of Gwyn who managed to use a healing fruit to revive her friend. Morg was able to defeat his spectral opponent by carefully anticipating its appearance.

Eventually their foes were defeated, although they suffered many wounds and the death of Ralo was particularly painful for Gwyn. Within the remains they uncovered a piecemeal suit of chain armor, old but still intact. Vinara claimed this for herself, as her armor had become badly damaged by the ooze’s acid.

Crystal Caverns
Now moving forward with crudely fashioned torches, the party pressed onward. Working their way further down into the tomb, the adventurers entered a chamber with crystalline formations and bones littering the area. As they continued downward, the cool air they felt became a small breeze. The heroes found themselves in a large cavern with many purple crystals in the walls. Although not trained in the Way, they could sense psychic energy inside the crystals and each decided to take several for themselves.

Further in the crystal cavern they spotted a large section of crystalline webbing over a large pit in the floor. Near the pit, a number of broken bones were barely visible. Morg positioned himself near the pit while Gwyn and Vinara moved to investigate the corpses. The bones sprang up and attacked, with half a dozen animated crawling gauntlets grasping at their legs. Expecting such an attack Morg cleaved through his attackers with little effort. Gwyn summed magic fire but was surprised by the quickness of her foes. Vinara dispatched one and move out of the way so that Gwyn could use a more powerful spell, which destroyed all but one of the minions with slashing spectral claws.

As Morg moved to help, he was set upon by a large crystal spider who blinded him with a beam of light. Despite his impairment, Morg swung his axe true and caused a serious wound to the beast who attempted to bite the Mul but was unable to overpower his defenses. The combined efforts of Gwyn and Vinara were able to defeat the spider and remaining foes.

The group was able to recover a suit of scale armor made from a crystalline material and although none could easily wear the armor, Morg decided to carry it with him surveying the chamber, the heroes found no means of escape, save for the large pit covered in crystalline webs. Morg was able to removed the webs, but suffered many cuts from the strands snapping. Gwyn sent her dragonling, whom she had named King, down into the pit in order to determine what might be waiting for them. It reported that the room below was man made had the look of a tomb about it. Deciding to investigate further, the heroes prepared to descend into the darkness.

Broken Relics
The heroes descended and discovered a worked stone tomb, the walls of which appeared to be inscribed with the symbols of an unknown language. Most of the delicate items that were once stored here were broken or scattered across the floor. Down a short flight of stairs, however, the relics remained untouched. Barely visible in their torch light, a rusty iron grate was seen, leading into a dark passage.

Vinara moved towards the unbroken relics and found a pair of braziers, still containing oil. The oil sputtered into flame with the touch of her torch, casting a dim light throughout the room. Morg and Gwyn moved to investigate the undamaged relics. When the brazier was lit, two large, man-shaped beings of blue crystal appeared out of the shadows and moved menacingly towards Gwyn and Morg.

The battle was fierce, as the Shard Golems radiated an unnatural aura, stabbing at the minds of those nearest to them. Their fists caused many bruises as well as additional psychic trauma. Morg assaulted one with a series of savage blows, knocking it back and shattering it. The heores were able to defeat the last golem, but both Gwyn and Morg took serious injuries in the process.

Among the ruins for the shard golems, Morg discovered what appeared to be the key to the grate. After quick rest to finish searching the tomb, they unlocked the grate which made a horrible screeching sound as it opened. They passed through and moved down the dark passageway, behind them the grate closed.

Who’s Trespassing?
As the party moved down the passage the sounds of chattering voices were heard. The scent of fresh meat assaulted them, but the darkness beyond their torch’s light concealed the next room’s inhabitants. Throwing caution aside, Morg entered the room, revealing large number of alcoves containing jars and other containers. A large series of cracks in the floor led deeper into the caves. Vinara located and lit several sconces along the outside wall, casting dim illumination across the room.

Apparently drawn by the light, half a dozen creatures emerged from the cracks in the floor, a group of Hejkin. With an evil, murderous glares, they moved to attack the party, hoping for a new source of food and treasure. The heroes were not caught unaware and met their attacks, quickly dispatching two of the hejkin who were babbling mostly unintelligible phrases. Driven deeper into their madness with the loss of their kin, the remaining hejkin waded into battle with slashing claws and two with lightning discharging from their bodies.

The battle was costly for the heroes, with Vinara’s staff breaking and more wounds for the party. However, they were able to defeat their enemies, with the last two bloodied hejkin fleeing into their tunnels. Not accustomed to his enemies living, Morg dumped oil down the tunnels and lit it on fire. The sounds of the Hejkin burning giving him some satisfaction.

Restless Spirits
Taking a moment to catch their breath after the fight with the Hejkin the party took the opportunity to search the room. The majority of the containers contained foul food, but the heroes were able to locate some usable food. In addition, several healing fruits and numerous trade stones were recovered.

Crossing the entrances to the hejkin caves, the party approached the last remaining alcove, containing a sarcophagus. As they approached it, the heroes began to feel a psychic drone in their minds. Their vision began to blur and when it cleared, a human figure was standing before them, wearing archaic robes that flowed into the room like a mist. Its fingers extended into long sharp claws. With it jaw jutting forward, opening, its words infiltrated the heroes minds.

“You should not have come here. The time is not yet right.”

Gwyn attempted to reason with the apparition, but its intentions were clear. It sought punish those who had plundered and desecrated the tomb. Moving swiftly, its claws tore into Morg, freezing his flesh. When Gwyn struck it with lightning, it became enraged at her use of magic, and summoned forth additional specters to attack the party.

Morg and Vinara make quick work of most of the new specters but not before they were assaulted by their chilling claws, and Gwyn finished them off with her magic. The fight against the haunting spirit was long and painful, with all of the heroes suffering serious injuries. At last it was defeated when Morg’s axe decapitated it, causing it to disperse.

In the Presence of Another Time
A heartbeat later, two figures emerged from the ground behind the heroes: a creature with skin like stone and a living wave of water, both vaguely human.

Our wind brother became one of the defilers and brought down death and evil to this peaceful place. But no matter, the time it not right for such trifles. you have proved worthy to carry our message back to the surface to show others that not all arcanists are defilers. You can become examples by preserving the arcane knowledge our people once held. The path you have chose might one day repair the damage done. We can only wait and hope the elemental prophecies are indeed true. Go now, and show the misguided that arcane energy can be used to preserve instead of destroy.

We shall open a way for you out of the mountains, for you are still being hunted. Know too that the one who hunts you is not entirely lost; he can be reformed.

With that the spirit of earth and water moved into the hejkin tunnels, reshaping them into passageways large enough to accommodate their heroes. Exhausted the heroes took a much needed rest before venturing into the tunnels. After several days travel in the tunnels, the party emerged back on the surface.

As they approached the surface, the familiar smell of dusty air entered their lungs, but the air was was strangely cool and humid. As their eyes adjusted to the daylight, it took them several moments to comprehend what they saw – a forest of trees, lush and green stretched before them. A loud crack rung out and they glanced around for the clearing. Unnoticed at first, the party found themselves surrounded by dozens of spears pointed at them.

Their eyes trained downward to the short creature holding the glittering iron spear. Less than four feet tall, and wearing primitive masks and clothes adorned with feathers and other trinkets, their captors were instantly recognizable – halflings. One wearing a headdress of feathers and skulls stepped forward.

“You are our captives now. You will come with us.”

More Than One Way Out
In the middle of the Forest Ridge, the party was surrounded by Halfling warriors who demanded they surrender. Knowing the fate that would likely await them, none of the hero’s wanted to surrender and they prepared for a fight. The halflings, knowing the adventurer’s must be powerful to survive the tomb, were reluctant to fight and a compromise was reached, whereby the adventurers were blindfolded and lead to the halfling village. Vinara’s innate capabilities with the Way allowed her to track their course, unbeknownst to the halflings.

When the long march ended, the heroes had their blindfolds removed found themselves in what appeared to be a ruined temple. A few remains of prior guests of the halflings were visible around a blood-soaked altar. The smell of fresh cooked meat made their stomach’s churn. Distant conversations were heard in the language of the halflings and although what was being said was unknown, the party quickly realized they were near a larger halfling settlement.

Negotiating with the Halfling Elder
Before long a large procession of halflings arrived at the temple. The elder of the Halfling tribe demanded to know why the party had intruded into their sacred forests. The Gwyn told their tale of being pursued by the obsidian storm and their encounters with the elemental spirits of earth, water and fire. The Halfling Elder was delighted with their tale and believed that they could help bring about a new Green Age for Athas.

The elder explained that if they were to pursue their goal, they would need to master the many powers of the world: mental, primal and arcane as well as have sufficient physical prowess to survive the many dangerous encounters that they would face. Their lack of training in the Way would need to be compensated for if they were to have any hope of success.

The halfling elder told the heroes of how the Deposers of Kalak had sought their aid and were gifted with a magical spear they used to help defeat the sorcerer-king Kalak. This spear was crafted from the sacred Tree of Life and could not be made again, unless another tree were found. They also learned how the Dwarves of old were able to resist the sorcerer-kings longer than many others, as evident by their survival of the Cleansing Wars. Finally they told how the sorcerer-kings were on the path to become Dragons and suggested that a powerful preserver could aspire to such powers as well.

As a gift, the heroes were inked with tattoos resembling flame wreathed heart representing their friendship with the halflings and to provide them with assistance in times of need. Gwyn took a particular interest in the tattoos and the process for enchanting them.

Hacking the Thick
The heroes left the halfling village and headed north toward the less treacherous western approaches of the Ringing Mountains. Within the Forest Ridge, the group felt rather odd, as if they were walking through two lands at once. They felt like they were moving between one land with firm earth and another atop clouds of mist. None in the group, including Morg, had ever seen such lush and thick trees with broad leaves. None had ever felt such cool and moist air. Hacking through the forest was difficult and they needed to rest often.

One of their short rests was interrupted by exotic screeching sounds and the underbrush erupted and a large group of Zairtail, vicious reptiles, emerged. The party was stunned by the gaze of a larger lizard, while swarms set upon Vinara and Morg. With some effort Morg cleaved through the swarm to attack the gazer, while Vinara was attacked by anther larger creature who latched on to her leg. Gwyn used her magic to summon flames that consumed a second swarm. Just as the party was gaining control of the fight, a large beast with orange and black stripped fur emerged from the jungle and began to attack Gwyn.

The party eventually defeated their attackers, but suffered serious wounds. Eager to reach Tyr, they only took a short rest to bind their wounds and recover a bit of their strength. With Vinara guiding them, they continued on through the forest.

Clear the Path
Vinara continued to lead her friends through the jungle, stopping only long enough to forage for food, they quickly made their way to edge of the Forest Ridge. As the area cleared, they found a deep divide separating the Forest Ridge from the Ringing Mountains. A long slice of the nearby cliff face had recently sheered off from the mountain and fell, wedging itself precariously between the two sides of the chasm.

Wary of danger, they proceeded cautiously and Gwyn sensed an odd energy about the stones. Carefully making their way across the bridge, avoiding they pockets of energy, they noticed the corpses of several individuals on the ledges below. As they neared the far side of the chasm, they were set up by vicious Gith.

With a burst of arcane energy, Gwyn vaulted over the Gith and landed, knocking several of the piercers off the edge and down into the chasm to their deaths. Morg engaged in a fierce battle with the Gith leader, a spearhead, and was nearly overcome. If not for the vitality granted by his rage and the cackling shruken head he wore around his neck, he would have been killed.

Vinara attempted to keep her companions alive by channeling her primal magic while engaging the spearhead and the hobblers. Eventually their opponents were defeated, but the heroes were greatly weakened by the encounter. While they rested, Morg ventured down the cliff face to the ledge with the corpses. While most was ruined, he recovered some useful gear, and a priceless treasure for Vinara – a bronze staff shaped like a rigid cobra.

Twisted Desert Denizens
As the group descended through the Ringing Mountains back into the desert surrounding Tyr the sun began to move towards the horizon, casting long shadows of the rocky landscape. The shadows were abruptly snuffed out by a bursting darkness that overwhelmed the area. The sickening familiar clatter of falling stone shards rung out once again.

A clutch of warped lizardfolk jumped onto the rocks as the sky continued to darken. One of them lets out a blood-curdling shriek and the others responded in similar tones. With their cries the hero’s skin begins to crawl as a static charge began to build in the dry desert sand.

As they continued to cry out the ssurrans attacked, the three sandwarped ssurrans moving into melee with the group, while the twisted ssurran began chanting. Gwyn’s magic clawed through the attackers, while Morg moved in to interrupt the chanting. Too late a swirling mass of sand formed behind Vinara and blinded her before blasting her with stinging sand.

Once again the party was victorious but greatly weakened from the fight. Gwyn finished off the last of the sandwarped lizardfolk with a burning spray of fire while Vinara and Bear dealt the killing blow to the twisted ssurran. The Dust Devil was finally finished with a combination of Gwyn’s lightning and Morg’s axe.

Wastewalker Assault
With only a few moments to catch their breath, a whirlwind of sand and stone swirls at the top of the nearby boulders. Flanked by three yellow-skinned ssurrans is a black-scaled lizardfolk with deep purple eyes and a spiny back. “You cannot essscape me, arcanisstsss!” Seemingly called into existence by his words, flying bits of obsidian coalesce into two human sized lizard-shaped elementals that pulse with lightning…

Wind and Stone
Finally confronted by their pursuer, and still suffering the wounds of their long journey out of the mountains, Morg, Vinara and Gwyn took stock of the situation. Remembering their encounters over the past days, they prepared to meet the Wastewalker.

Morg moved in quickly to attack the Ssurrans and Storm Shard having trouble connecting with the lizardmen, but greatly wounding the storm. Vinara made the most of her healing to to keep Morg alive during his assault, while wounding several of the lizardmen. Gwyn used her magic from behind the lines, having taken many serious wounds during their march from the Forest Ridge. The group was able to defeat several of their opponents, but the outlook was bleak, as the Wastewalker had yet to enter the combat.

During the battle, the Wastewalker held back, trying to convince Vinara and Morg to turn upon Gwyn, but they never wavered in their support of the friend, knowing that she was one of the few true preservers in Athas. The Wastewalker began to listen as they recounted their encounters with the elemental spirits, who had charged them restoring Athas. Although skeptical, he listened as they told him the information imparted by the Halflings. Finally, when Gwyn herself showed the tattoo given by the Halflings, did he call off the rest of his attackers.

The hero’s debated the fate of the Wastewalker, trying to decided between killing him, taking him to Tyr and setting him free, promising to only hunt defilers. Eventually they settled on sending him and his follower free, trusting that he appreciated the difference between defilers and preservers and knowing that he could be a valuable ally in the future.

The Golden City
With the black clouds that had pursued them for what seemed like ages finally gone, the group approached the gates of the city of Tyr. Looming over the skyline of Tyr, the great Ziggurat of Kalak and the Golden Tower were visible at first, then the rest of the city rose above the horizon. The group entered the Caravan Gate and began their exploration of the free city, determined to continue on their quest to restore Athas to its former state and topple the defilers that were the cause of its fall from Glory.

Setting Up Shop
Having spent a few days in the city of Tyr, the heroes decided that their best course of action was to establish a base of operations in the Elven Market. The new shop, Free City Tattoo, would require an investment in order to set up shop. Gwyn, Morg and Vinara traveled about the city attempting to sell some of the treasures they had uncovered in their flight from the Wastewalker. They had little luck in the Smith’s District, although they located several interesting shops including the Tarnished Cup.

About the same time the disgraced noble, Castri, wandered into the Artisan District to look up an old friend, a Half-Giant named Karlen who was the proprietor of Karlen’s Eye. Although Karlen was unable to directly aid Castri, he did pass along a rumor that he had heard about a recently uncovered ruins called the Face in the Stone, which could contain valuables that he would be happy to sell and give Castri a commission. Karlen also suggested that Castri be on the lookout for new arrivals in the city, a group of adventurers who arrived after the last obsidian storm.

A short while later Castri found the adventurers making their way about the city attempting to finance their new venture. After a brief introduction the entire group returned to Karlen’s Eye and arrived at a satisfactory price that would let the group get enough seed money for their shop. Karlen also suggested that if they needed money and were so inclined the city was holding a gladiatorial contest during the upcoming Festival of the Cooling Sun.

Morg set out to enter the group under the name Obsidian Storm for the five day gladiatorial contest.

First Arena Game
Morg and his companions entered the Arena, not knowing what their first contest would be. The beast masters released a pair of Ankheg and their broodlings, and with that the fight began. The large Ankhegs moved forward towards the gladiators but were unable to close the entire distance. Castri let loose a series of arrows and felled one of the broodlings. Vinara and Bear targeting the closest Ankheg along with Gwyn (who was careful to disguise her arcane abilities) and Morg. The beast was bloodied but still was able to grab and hold Morg, dragging him away to be eaten by the broodlings. Eventually the beast went down under the constant assault of Castri, Vinara and Morg, but not without inflicting serious wounds on the party. The second Ankheg and the remainder of the broodlings were defeated by Vinara, Gwyn and Castri, leaving Team Obsidian Storm victorious.

Personal Business
Following their success in the arena, each of the gladiators placed bets in the Elven Market on the outcome of the next match. Morg also placed bets on him winning the entire competition. After that, they went their own ways to take care of personal business.

Morg and Vinara traveled to the Merchant District to see about securing more supplies to their former village. They were able to locate the warehouses of House Wavir and found their associate Rhotan Vor in Tyr. After arranging for supplies to be sent to the village, Rhotan asked for help in locating the fabled Vault of Darom Madar, a storehouse of treasure for a merchant house that was destroyed many years ago. In exchange for acting as guards, they would receive a cut of the treasure and percentage of the profits.

Gwyn began her search for the Veiled Alliance in the city. Although the group is as elusive in Tyr as any other city, the recent overthrow of Kalak has given the Veiled Alliance a slightly improved reputation in the city. Although she had not made contact with any particular cell, she felt confident that she would be able to be able to subtly use magic in the upcoming arena games to be noticed.

Castri attempted to make contact with Agis a noble of House Asticles and one of the Deposers of Kalak. Although he was only able to make contact with one of his assistants, Castri was determined to continue to pursue this, in hopes of helping his new friends learn more about the events leading up to Kalak’s death.

Later that night, Vinara was awoken by a raspy voice carried on the wind. The unmistakable voice of the Wastewalker simply said “Prepare for my arrival tomorrow night, I bring dire news.”

Coins in the Coffer
After a night of rest, team Obsidian Storm entered the arena once again, this time to find themselves playing against members of the Red Cord mercenary group in a game of coins in the coffer. Morg, Vinara and Gwyn formulated a strategy with Castri as the rules of the game were explained: No attacks on opposing team members, each coin placed in the teams coffer scores one point, the team with the most points after five rounds wins.

During the first round both teams moved quickly towards the center of the area, avoiding the treacherous brambleweed. Morg began to work the crowd as he taunted the other team and moved to block their coffer. Castri attempting to disrupt the charge fired arrows, but his opponents were not deterred. During the second round Castri’s arrows proved equally ineffective, however Gwyn grabbed a coin and deposited it in her team’s coffer. The Red Cord moved to the pile of coins, grabbing three, and headed towards their coffer. The halfling forest keeper conjured vines to ensnare Vinara.

Intercepting his opponents, Morg knocked them back with a ferocious roar. Gwyn’s elven speed allowed her grab a coin and drop it in the coffer, then carefully using her arcane powers, she leapt through the air and knocked the halfling down.

Seeing potential trouble, Castri used his abilities with the Way to move the remaining three coins from the center of the arena to Vinara’s feet. Still entangled by the conjured vines Vinara grabbed and tossed a coin, it just landing short of the coffer. Morg continued to push his opponents back from their coffer and making a good show of it for the crowd. Gwyn chased the halfling, who had ducked beneath he legs and grabbed one of the coins as Vinara’s feet. She used her magic again to summon claws that lifted the halfing and the coin into her coffer. Too late she realized that her attempt to conceal her magic might not have been successful. Vinara, finally free of the halflings vines, deposited the last coin into her coffer and closed the lid, with the halfling still inside.

Morg continued to do battle with his human opponents, with neither side making any real progress. When the final gong signaled the end of the game team Obsidian Storm had won with a score of 4 to 0. The members of the Red Cord retrieved their halfling and walked out the arena as the crowd cheered for team Obsidian Storm.

Finding Friends
After resting, the heroes ventured out into The Warrens to the Elven Market to collect their winnings a place new bets on the outcome of the gladiatorial contest. Although their team was gaining some amount of fame the competition was as well, making the outcome of the tournament still uncertain.

Castri left the Elven Market to meet up with Khalos the aid to Agis who was supposed to be arranging a meeting between them. Pleasantly, Agis had agreed to meet following the third day of the tournament.

Gwyn and Morg made their way from the arena into the Warrens, attempting to create an opportunity to make contact with the Veiled Alliance. After a short while they realized they were being followed and maneuvered to follow their tail. Neither Morg nor Gwyn were particularly subtle and they were lead into a quiet alley where they could converse with some degree of privacy. Their new friend was a red-skinned Tiefling who introduced himself as Jarvix. As they expected, he claimed to be a member of the Veiled Alliance and announced that they had noticed Gwyn and were intending to make her an offer, once she passed their final tests. She was to meet them at dawn on the fifth day of festival.

Later that evening a freak sandstorm blew across the city, and the Wastewalker appeared to Vinara. He spoke of terrible visions that he had where a great sandstorm began to devour the world. In the vision, he saw a lost shrine where evil stirs called the Face in the Stone, and a powerful defiler who is searching for the Face, to unleash the evil. He tasked Vinara with taking up her true destiny and stopping this defiler. However, he felt she was not strong enough to take on this task, and so he offered to train her, starting at dusk on the third night of the festival. He departed with the sandstorm.

The Gaj
The following day was the last of the group battles in the arena, and Obsidian Storm intended to continue their winning streak. The arena was refitted with numerous pillars, blocking their view of the opposing gate. However, the suspense was ended when the announcer revealed that they would be fighting a dreaded Gaj.

Knowing the speed was of the utmost importance to defeat a powerful foe, the team moved quickly. Castri moved to to get a clear shot but his arrow bounced harmlessly off the creatures thick carapace. Gwyn summoned an orb of shifting arcane energy and hurled it toward the Gaj, but the nimble creature ducked just in time avoiding it despite her elven accuracy. Morg and Vinara moved up keeping cover between. The Gaj, slower to react than its opponents, moved forward and unleashed a blast of psychic energy, injuring them both. As Morg’s shrunken head amulet cackled some of the Gaj’s psychic attack was rebounded.

Castri let loose another volley of arrows, but although his aim was true, the arrows failed to penetrate its defenses. Gwyn attempted to assault the Gaj’s mind and remove all evidence from her foe’s senses, however the Gaj’s mental defenses withstood the attack and all she accomplished was to drawn the attention of the beast. Vinara used her primal magic to heal Gwyn and boost her allies defenses. The Gaj moved in while Morg waited for the most opportune moment to strike and sunk its mandibles into Gwyn, holding her in place. She was able to avoid it’s feathery antennae but her wounds were severe. Summoning all his rage, Morg unleashed a furious set of blows on the Gaj, scoring two serious wounds while the creature was occupied with Gwyn.

Finally penetrating the Gaj’s armor, Castri’s arrows finally struck home. Gwyn again failed to wound the Gaj, but she did manage to escape its powerful bite. Vinara moved into melee with burst of primal power trailing after her bronze staff, causing a halo of primal magic to surround her strengthening her allies. The Gaj, its attentions now focused on Morg, savagely ripped into Morg with its mandibles and antennae as it unleashed another blast of mental energy. Morg, barely conscious, was unable to connect with the Gaj, but he was able to escape its grasp.

Castri’s bad luck returned as his arrows bounced off the Gaj’s shell. In desperation Gwyn unleashed a blast of lightning wounding the creature but also Morg and Vinara. Vinara drew the last of the life energy out of the Gaj, renewing Morg’s vitality as it died. Once again team Obsidian Storm was victorious.

Crodlu Racing
The fourth day of the festival opened with a series of crodlu races as the individual contests began. Morg, Gwyn and Castri found themselves competing against each other and two other gladiators. The objective was simple, be the first to guide their crodlu across the finish line after two laps around the area.

The three friends vowed to work together to help Morg win the competition, knowing that only he would be available for the final day of competition. Morg pushed his crodlu hard trusting his athleticism and endurance to help his lizard carry him across the finish line. Gwyn pushed her crodlu hard, while hanging on with all of her strength, all the while maneuvering to prevent the other gladiators from overtaking her friend. Castri had more difficulty keeping up, being unused to the animals, however his skill with the Way caused a great difficulties for the others as he caused debris from the track to blind and hinder them.

Near the finish line Castri collided with another rider sending both of them tumbling across the finish line just behind Morg who finished first and Gwyn who finished in second place. After the race, the three collected their winnings and stayed at the arena to watch the other races. Members of the Red Cord were eliminated but an elf of the Moonrunner tribe showed impressive skills in the racing and looked to be a top contender for the final match of the festival.

Across the Wastes
During the fourth day, Vinara left the city to journey with the Wastewalker to a hidden location to receive training on the ways of a primal guardian. After a day of travel, where she listen to the Wastewalker discuss how all aspects of nature were interconnected, they arrived at a hidden oasis in the foothills of the Ringing Mountains.

The spirits of fire challenged her to destroy the defilers and their allies in order to prevent more damage to the world. The spirit of earth warned her that she would need to endure great hardships if she were to take up the task of restoring Athas to its former state. The spirit of water tasked Vinara with healing the world that had suffered so much at the hands of the sorcerer-kings. Finally the spirit of air challenged Vinara to be cautious in her approach to restoring Athas, knowing that the entrenched power of sorcerer-kings and their allies would not be easily overthrown.

Accepting their challenges and demonstrating her ability to overcome her adversaries, the spirits invested her with the power to become a primal guardian. She learned the power to summon a new companion to help her in quests – a living zephyr that could obscure the vision of her enemies and push them about. Satisfied that her training was complete she began her journey back to Tyr.

The Veiled Alliance
Gwyn journeyed back to the The Warrens to meet her Veiled Alliance contact Jarvix and complete her initiation on the night of the fifth day of the festival. They traveled deep into the Warrens and down into the depths of an abandoned building. From the basement they traveled down into the Under-Tyr, the ruins of the old city of Tyr.

At the gates of an ruined building Gwyn demonstrated her skill in preserving magic by opening the door without harming the fragile lichens nearby. Inside the building she found other members of the Alliance who tested her moral character and dedication to the cause of preserving magic.

More than satisfied with her responses, she was inducted into the Veiled Alliance. She learned that the cells were currently debating divulgence – whether to maintain the secrecy that has protected them for so long, or whether to reveal themselves to the population and capitalize on the death of Kalak to promote good-will towards their members. With the future of such actions uncertain, Gwyn returned to the surface to watch Morg’s final match.

Agis of Asticles
Castri to the estates of Agis in the hopes of learning more about the events surrounding the death of Kalak. Although initially suspect about his motives, Agis eventually divulged much that was previously unknown, hoping that Castri would use such knowledge to help bring about a positive change to the world.

We journeyed to the Forest Ridge where the halflings granted us the use of a Heartwood Spear, pulled from an ancient Tree of Life. They told us that Kalak was attempting to transform into a powerful dragon, and if successful he would bring great destruction to the lands. They instructed us that only by working together could we hope to overcome Kalak’s potent defenses.

During the gladiatorial contest, we struck at once; I used by talents with the Way to weaken his mental defenses, Sadira used her arcane powers to breach his other defenses. Rikus then threw the spear and landed a mortal wound, one that should have killed him, except for the massive life force he was draining from the crowd. We, along with Tithian, followed Kalak into the Ziggurat of Kalak.

Once inside, we found Kalak in the midst of his transformation and attempted to finish him off, but he was too strong, still empowered by the life forces he had stolen. Only the quick actions of Tithian, who began smashing the obsidian orbs around his chamber cut him off from the energies and allowed him to be finally defeated.

If you hope to defeat other sorcerer-kings you will have a much harder time than we did, for the other sorcerer-kings will not be distracted by the rituals that Kalak was attempting when he was slain. Even at your peak, you will need all the help you can receive, you should look find powerful artifacts to aid your quests, but where to start looking is unknown to me.

Armed with this knowledge, Castri returned to watch the final games of the festival.

The Final Duel
The final match of games was between Morg and and elf named Aric, from the Moonrunner tribe, had earned a reputation for ruthlessness. The two gladiators closed on each other taking cover behind pillars as they did so. When they were close Morg stepped out from behind the pillar and taunted the elf into attacking.

Happy to oblige, Aric charged forth swiping with his massive obsidian blade and landing a deep wound on Morg. The wound began to sting and burn from the poison that was coated on the blade, clearly showing his intent to kill. Morg became enraged and his fury gave him the strength to ignore the wounds and continue fighting. Both gladiators maneuvered around the pillars and patches of brambleweed. The elf’s use of poison and magic during the attack gave him a slight advantage, but the crowd clearly favored Morg. A couple attacks that were parried by Aric appeared to be the turning point, but the combat ended quickly as a massive swipe from Morg’s axe removed the elf’s head.

After the celebration, Morg and the others collected the winnings from their bets and began to prepare for their next journey. They decided to search for the Face in the Stone as the urgency seemed greater. They let a disappointed Rhotan Vor of House Wavir know that when they returned, they would help him search for the lost tomb.

Desert Trek
Morg, Vinara and Castri headed to the Merchant District to purchase supplies for their expedition into the desert. Eager to start their trip, the trio did not spend much time listening to news or gossip, but rather made their purchases and headed back.

While the others were busy procuring supplies, Gwyn opened their shop and attempted to attract some business. The day was slow, with only one patron, a merchant named Dalem Shom, of House Shom. While inking his house symbol onto his arm, Dalem expressed concern over a missing caravan and a dramatic increase in raider activity. Gwyn mentioned that when they were in the desert, they would keep a look out for the lost caravan.

The group set out the next day, guided only by the shared visions of Vinara and the Wastewalker, they headed towards the rising sun. Watchful for the vague landmarks seen in the visions, the group struggled against the harsh terrain, with Gwyn suffering the most as they crossed ravines and escarpments.

As the group moved through a particularly narrow section of the badlands, thin strands of nearly invisible crystal suddenly became apparent. As they got closer, it was apparent that the strands formed a large web stretching between several of the boulders. Having seen this type of web before, the heroes were not surprised by the appearance of two large crystal spiders. The battle against the spiders was not difficult for the seasoned adventurers, although the blinding light reflected by the spiders caused Gwyn to be blinded for a short while.

After eight grueling days of travel, the group finally reached what they assumed could only be their destination; a dust storm hanging in place over a cliff wall. The stationary storm, a twisting pillar of blowing dust and sand ascended over 50 feet into the sky. The screaming wind promised stinging death to those who entered.

Storm’s Edge
From their vantage point, the adventurers could see more than a dozen humans and humanoids among the jumble of rocks and dunes ahead of them. Their ragtag and eclectic dress suggested they were raiders. Some were perched atop the rocks as sentries and other gathered farther away, partly sheltered by a large boulder. Numerous bound human captives lay near the edge of the stationary dust devil. While they assessed the situation, three of the raiders began to drag a captive across the sand and tosses him into the swirling dust. The captive screamed and was gone.

Acting quickly to maintain the element of surprise and prevent more of the captives from being killed, the group sprang into action. Castri launched a volley of arrows across the boulder taking out one of the tarek raiders who was throwing captives into the storm. Morg charged the nearest raider while Gwyn used her magic on a tougher looking tarek. Vinara and Bear moved to position themselves but were unable to take down any of the raiders.

Gwyn summoned claws of arcane energy to tear away at the raiders foolish enough to close in with her. Vinara drained the lifeblood from her opponent to heal Morg who had been wounded battling several of the humans. Castri continued to launch arrows into the raiders switching to those near the captives after they tossed another into the storm.

The group suffered a bit under the hail of javelins and stabs of spears, but eventually they emerged victorious. Although one of the raiders was alive, the heroes tossed him into the storm. The surviving captives were discovered to be the missing House Shom caravan and promised to tell of the heroics of their saviors upon their return to Tyr. Although there was little to be found on the raiders, they did share one thing in common – a tattoo of a snakes skull. None knew of the significance.

Dust Devil
After taking a short rest and seeing the merchants of House Shom off, the heroes decided that the only course of action was to attempt to penetrate the sand storm in the hopes of finding the Face in the Stone. Acting on Castri’s advice, the group lashed themselves together and entered the storm with Morg and Vinara leading the way.

Each was challenged to endure the rigors of the dust devil while helping their comrades through the worst parts. Simple brute strength to push through the sandstorm was not enough, in order to withstand the rigors of the dust devil, each had to avoid getting turned around in the swirling sand. As they pushed further in, the intensity worsened and the punishing winds caused sand dunes to form and shift, threatening to bury them.

Suffering many small wounds, the party eventually emerged from the storm to find a hollow area of still air along a high cliff face. The cliff contained the relief carving of a massive humanoid face – clearly the Face in the Stone. The empty eyes were black shadows, but the gaping mouth was set with two granite obelisks that appeared to be massive teeth. There appeared to be flashes of movement within the cave, but who or what it was, was not possible to determine at the distance.

The Face
The heroes cautiously approached the entrance to the face and as they did so, it became apparent that the movement within was caused by a small group of hejkin. Castri decided to remain outside the face, standing guard in case any of the marauder’s allies attempted to breech the dust storm surrounding the Face.

Gwyn moved forward past the obelisks, which crackled with lightning, striking her. Not seriously injured, she continued in and attempted to intimidate the hejkin into fleeing, bu they were not routed and battle commenced. Morg and Vinara rushed into the cave as the hejkin unleashed lightning attacks of their own. Despite her magic claws tearing into the hejkin, Gwyn suffered the worst under their attack. Two of the hejkin were defeated by Vinara and her entourage, while Morg and Gwyn slew the others.

The group retreated out past the Obelisks, which eventually went dark again. Carefully approaching them, they attempted to discover a way to disable the trap. Unfortunately their actions caused the traps to explode, causing further injuries.

Hejkin Lair
Venturing down the left-hand passage, the group heard a strange sound, akin to a breeze through a fine crystal chime. The source of the sound was found to be the most unusual sight the adventurer’s had seen – running water. Free running water falling down one side of the corridor, pooled in the center of the runnel and flowed away down another constricted channel. Vinara’s keen eyes spotted a shape resting 10 feet below the surface of the water. The creature, resembling a scorpion with tentacles in it’s mouth, was recognized as a chuul. Wary of disturbing the beast, the group vaulted over the stream and continued on down the corridor.

Past the pool of water, the twisting corridor ended in a wide chamber stinking of rotting carrion and spoor. Piles of debris were scattered like nests, and large hole was visible in the center of the chamber. Barely visible in their flickering torchlight, several more hejkin were visible.

Hurt and tired, the heroes charged in to try and make quick work of their foes. Gwyn summoned a blast of fire, burning the hejkin chief as he rang a gong near the entrance. Vinara and Bear took down two of the hejkin quickly before being attacked by the chuul who approached from behind. Morg charged the chief and knocked him into a pit in the room, but its quick reflexes saved it from certain death. Pulling itself out of the pit the chief tossed Bear into the pit and savagely tore into Morg with its claws.

Eventually the hejkin were defeated and Bear was able to climb out of the pit. The group, now completely exhausted was forced to rest in the foul lair of the hejkin. During their rest they uncovered some coins that the hejkin were hoarding, but very little else of value.

Cult of Dust
The group headed back towards the entrance and then proceeded down the eastern passage. Their progress was blocked by a set of doors bearing markings similar to those found on the Obelisks out front. Cautious of a trap, Morg attempted to disable the device but found as he went through the door that the trap was still active and received a nasty shock. The rest followed him down a long hallway with a large crack in the floor, which had three sets of doors near the far end.

The door at the end of the hallway was closed, but they could hear a crackling sound coming from the other side. Wary of traps, but having no other option, they opened the door to reveal a large room light by four massive braziers, one in each corner of the room. The skeleton of a snake-like creature lay crumbling on the floor. In the flickering light, an altar of carved bone was visible along the northern wall.

When Vinara moved up to the altar to investigate a skeletal figure appeared in each of the two northern braziers, burning but undamaged by the flames. Fire flared in the eye sockets of the skeletal creature on the floor; its tail rising and lashing out sending shards of bone and stone flying. Smoke puffs in the two southern braziers appeared and then faded, revealing several shambling corpses. Two of the corpses were crusted with salt.

The corpses moved with surprising speed and surrounded Vinara, clawing and biting her. She swung her bronze staff, a halo of primal magic surrounding her, the undead quickly falling to her attacks. As the whipping tail of the skeleton continued to blast the room with poisonous bone and stone fragments, Gwyn summoned spectral claws that slashed into a burning skeleton and a salt zombie. Bear and Morg tore into the blazing skeleton and the second salt zombie, taking them down quickly. Morg hacked at the skeletal tail until nothing was left.

After the battle was concluded the group searched the room and found only writing above a picture of a massive serpent with a golden crown on it’s head carved into the altar. Vinara could barely translate the writing.

In the beginning, Ul-Athra and its siblings created the world. For a time, each primordial claimed a domain among the formless, empty regions. Ul-Athra, a creature of wind and rage, had dominion over the fury of the dust storm. It wore upon its brow the Crown of Dust, into which the primordial had invested a considerable sum of its power. When Ul-Athra was lost to the world, fragments of the Crown remained.

Storm Seat
Continuing straight down a hallway, ignoring two side doors, the group found themselves in front of another pair of doors. Tired of caution, Morg flung open the doors and walked inside of a large natural chamber. In a niche in the southern wall, a massive, vaguely humanoid creature made of fused bone was resting on the ground. Four statues, apparently carved from the floor were visible in the chamber. A great stone cauldron was visible on the northern side of the chamber.

As the heroes moved into the room, they could hear low whispers coming from the cauldron. The ghostly mutterings continued without end, mixing words from many languages without meaning. As Vinara moved towards the cauldron, she avoided getting too close to the statues, as the air around them seemed disturbed. The cauldron was large enough to hold the entire party, but was empty except for what appeared to be a faint mist.

Ancestor Hall
Deciding that their need to find the artifact was greater than the need to satisfy their curiosity, the group moved out of the room. Once again they avoided getting too close to the statues. The hallway was light from the far end and had two side passages that each had a large stone urn at the far side.

The southern passage had a snake design decorated on the floor tiles in what appeared to be charcoal. The northern passage was similarly decorated, but the design was painted in a dark green fluid. Both hallways had strange writing which Vinara translated as the phrase “Our ancestors require obeisance” etched in the walls. The large urns remained untouched as the group ventured towards the source of the light.

Wide steps lead down into a grand chamber. Crackling fire burned in two braziers that flanked the stairs. The flames bathed the room in oddly inconstant light, throwing shadows across a floor covered in skeletal and mummified humanoid remains. Vinara moved forward, heading to the southern doors leading out of the room, when she was wracked with pain.

With a shriek, several bodies scattered across the floor began to rise, the sickly sweet odor of decaying flesh blowing through the chamber. A snake sigil, previously obscured by the bodies began to glow with a scarlet light. Around the sigil, a number of ghostly figures appeared moving towards the immobilized Vinara, caressing her with shadowy hands. Morg charged the wraiths, cleaving them with his axe. Vinara and Bear defeated the remaining two with a combined attack.

Gwyn flung her arms in a wide arc spraying the zombies and skeletons with liquid fire. Although Vinara was in constant pain as the sigil continued to drain her energy, their remaining foes were dispatched quickly. Gwyn used her magic to disrupt the sigil long enough for the group to leave the room and head deeper into the Face in the Stone. The exit from the room eventually forked with doors visible at the end of each branch.

Rhotan’s Caravan
Almost a week had passed since Rhotan Vor of House Wavir had asked Morg and his companions to help him search for the fabled Vault of Darom Madar. The dwarf was getting impatient as he felt sure that other were searching for the Vault as well, given that the drunk that gave him the information would certainly have talked to others. Unwilling to wait any longer or to give up on finding such lucrative treasure, Rhotan began to search for other adventurers.

The tough times were getting tougher in Tyr as the economy continued to sink and envoy’s from the other city-states demanded that the iron mines be reopened. Rhotan gathered a half-dozen guards, only one of which had seen any real action, a man named Kelvor. All required their pay up front and the expense of preparing a large caravan taxes Rhotan’s finances to the limit.

The next day, the caravan set out, the hired guards moving quickly ahead to scout out their path. The rest of the caravan consisted of three sand skiffs. Each of the three-wheeled vehicles was propelled by a single sailed and manned by a pilot and a couple of deck hands. The group headed towards the elven village of Silver Spring Oasis to resupply and gather more information.

The Crimson Oasis
The journey across the deserts taxed the caravan’s members as they suffered under the relentless heat of the crimson sun. Kelvor and the scouts tried to keep the caravan headed in the right direction despite the blowing winds and dangers of the wilderness, but they faltered several times. Eventually they reached a small oasis where they made camp.

The oasis was not much more than a muddy hole in the ground surrounded by desert scrub, but even its foul tasting water was a welcome relief from the desert. Before the first sip of water was taken, the oasis erupted into violent action as three armed men burst from cover and charged the caravan. Safely behind the cover of some rocks a dwarf and halfling emerged and slowly moved towards the battle.

Although Kelvor tried be organize a defense, the other guards were caught by surprise as the raiders ran several of them through with their spears. The dwarf called down a blinding ray of light into the melee, hampering the defense of the caravan, while the halfling used the Way to confuse the befuddle the guards.

Kelvor’s whirling defenses kept the raiders attention on him for the remainder of the skirmish and his harmony of body and mind allowed him to survive several deadly attacks by the wilder and sun priest. Eventually the bandits were defeated, although half of the guards had perished and several more were severely wounded.

Wasteland Assassins
Undeterred by their struggle at the oasis, Rhotan continued on towards Silver Springs, confident that they could resupply there. He thought that with some luck they might even be able to hire on replacements. As the caravan moved through a ceaseless blur of sun-scorched sand and rolling dunes, there was little to break the monotony of heat and thirst. When the barbed arrows began hissing form the sky, fired by a trio of dark shapes on the crest of a nearby dune, it was almost a welcome break to the drudgery of travel.

The elven assassin’s aim was superb quickly cutting down more of the remaining guards before they could reach the top of the dune. Just as the survivors reached the top of the dune, they were wracked with pain as the ground around them turned into dark ash. Riding atop a crodlu was a hooded man that summoned a whip of fire that wrapped around Kelvor, burning his skin and leaving a trail of ash. Wounded as they were, the remaining members of the caravan were no match for the defiler assassin and his troops.

When Kelvor awoke, he was bruised and battered. There were no signs of the assassins, except for several areas of ash on the desert floor and a few bodies, already burned in the sun. As he searched the area, the only signs of the caravan were the wheel marks of the sand skiffs, already being covered by the blowing sands. All but one of the bodies, Rhotan’s, were dead and already the victim of desert scavengers. Rhotan was alive, but only barely, apparently the victim of a severe blow to the head. The vast majority of their supplies were missing, including all of Rhotan’s information on the Vault.

The Walk of Shame
With virtually no other options, Kelvor and Rhotan turned back towards Tyr. Their vitality leeched by the sun’s punishing rays and already weakened by their ordeals, the pair barely made it back alive. Word of their failure spread quickly, as did rumors that House Wavir’s long time enemy, House Tsalaxa, was likely to be blamed. Others simply pointed to the folly of searching for things that are best left alone.

Regardless of the truth to those rumors the consequences were immediate and dire. Rhotan had invested a considerable some of money in the caravan, and House Wavir had suffered for his expedition’s failure. Within two days, the merchant house had closed its operations in Tyr and moved out. Rhotan left as well, heading out to Altaruk to try and salvage his position in the merchant house.

Kelvor remained in Tyr. Rhotan thought that should Morg and his companions return, they might be able to team up and track down those responsible for the attack. A desperate hope that House Wavir’s fortunes might change.

Crown Wyrm
As Morg, Vinara and Gwyn were making up their minds about which way to go, a rumbling sound was heard in front of them. The wall in front of the group began to shift and Castri appeared, torch in hand. He informed his allies that he had grown impatient waiting and located a secret door while searching for artifacts for his friend Karlen. Once Castri was brought up to speed on the encounters they had, the group decided to investigate the western door.

The doors to the room were heavy, but unlocked and with a little effort, they were pushed open to reveal a cavernous chamber, illuminated with a flickering purple light that shone up from a pit in the floor. The source of the light could not be seen from the doorway. The room also had two large fountains on the northern edge, from which water could be heard. To the south there was a large obsidian slab, from which Gwyn detected powerful defiling magic.

Castri and Gwyn moved into the room and were lowered into the pit by Morg, while Vinara went to investigate the fountains. Gwyn could detect magic, but not defiling in nature coming from the source of the light – a fragment of a golden crown. Castri decided to pick it up and as he did so, the room was plunged into darkness. All at once, the party shared a vision…

Through the vast desert a gigantic worm with numerous tentacles traveled at great speed, approaching a rocky outcropping. A golden crown was visible on the worm’s head. Perched on top of the rock loomed what could only be the great Dragon of Tyr. As the worm neared the rocks the Dragon took flight and the two were quickly engaged in a titanic battle. The land around the Dragon turned to ash as it’s powerful magic assaulted the worm. Eventually the Dragon dealt a fatal blow to the worm, shattering the crown. As the dragon flew away, the worm and the crown were swallowed by the desert.

As soon as the vision ended, Vinara screamed in pain. Still in total darkness, Gwyn and Vinara attempted to light torches while Castri climbed out of the pit, assisted by Morg. When the torches were finally lit a massive serpent could be seen biting at Vinara, while around the room nearly a dozen wraiths were seen moving out of the walls.

Morg charged into the nearest group of wraiths, defeating them with several swings of his axe. Gwyn, surrounded by wraiths as well used her magic and was propelled out of the pit on a thunderclap, destroying the wraiths in the pit and those near where she landed.

Vinara, her zephyr and Bear struck back at the wyrm, while Castri fired arrows into it. Although the beast was struck many times it kept attacking Vinara and Bear. Morg enraged and joined the fight while Gwyn let loose bolts of lighting at the creature. The worm latched onto Morg’s chest, sucking the life out of him and healing its own wounds.

While the group continued to attack the creature, another wave of wraiths appeared. Castri turned on them and managed to destroy them all with few volley’s from his great bow. Eventually the wyrm was defeated by Gwyn, who blasted it with an orb of fire as Morg’s axe nearly took off its head.

After the long fight, the party’s wounds were too great to continue, so they rested for several hours before continuing on. During this time they all searched the room, looking for any secrets, but none were found. They decided to finish the exploration of the Face before heading back outside.

Rot Bloom
As the heroes made their way out of the room and headed towards the other unopened door, the air became slightly damp and began to smell of rot. The passage ended at a door which was covered in an uneven layer of slightly phosphorescent fungus. Opening the door they were surprised to see fungus blanketing the floor. The moist cavern walls and ceiling were glowing dimly in cool tones of green, blue and yellow. The rotted detritus of barrels, crates ans shelves littered the side walls. Fungal stalks, a few of which read 5 or 6 feet in height were growing from the debris. The floor appeared to have collapsed, leaving a dark cavity in the center of the room.

Seeing nothing unusual and curious about the fungus, Morg ventured into the room and moved to cut down some of the stalks to investigate further. Just as he was about to strike, the fungus turned and released a cloud of spores, temporarily pacifying him. Another clump of fungus moved towards the Mul and released spores as well. Morg, severely wounded, was still unable to act because of the spores.

Only able to see the moving fungus creatures from the doorway, Gwyen rushed into the room and attempted to communicate with the creatures. One of the larger creatures appeared to be able to communicate telepathically and demanded why they were attacked. Although they were angry and being disturbed and attacked, Gwyn was able to convince them that it was a misunderstanding. The heroes promised to leave them in peace and left the room cautiously, in case they fungus creatures changed their minds.

Storm Seat
Curious about the sections of the Face in the Stone that they passed by, the group retraced their steps through the Ancestor Hall and back towards the Storm Seat. Along the way the noticed the the braziers had gone out. They investigated the large stone urns, and heedless of the warnings, opened them. After an explosion of blinding ash, all they found inside were dust and bones.

In the Storm Seat, Morg wanted to investigate the cauldron more and ventured too close to the statues. With a powerful gust of wind, he was tossed into the cauldron and was immediately wracked with pain as if his very essence was being pulled out of his body. At the same moment, the giant skeleton moved from its resting place and hurried over the the cauldron, ready to strike at Morg.

Castri opened fire on the skeleton as it marched towards the cauldron, but failed to dissuade it from attacking Morg. Gwyen stepped into the room and used her arcane magic to damage the skeleton and make Morg invisible to it. Vinara moved in as well, hurling stones from her dejada. Morg became enraged and with fresh vitality he struck a mighty blow with his axe, causing bone fragments to fly out from the skeleton. Within moments it succumbed to the assault of magic and weapons and as it fell, another blast of bone shards hit the party.

While they were searching the room, Castri felt an urge to sit upon the throne and did so. When he did so, he saw a vision of Ul-Athra – a massive worm slithering across a green Athas. The worm wore a a crown that shone with gold and shed whirlwinds of spectacular grandeur. Castri couldn’t help but be impressed by the vision of the Green Age.

Leaving the Face
After a quick rest to treat their wounds, the party journeyed further back in the the Face, through the room that held the whipping skeletal tail. Here too the braziers that had once been burning, were now dark. Down the southern hallway they moved until they came upon the last two unopened doorways.

Through the eastern door was only a large empty room with a stone basin in it. Inside the basin was an aquamarine colored liquid. Behind the western door they found any empty room with a basin containing a maroon liquid. The group took samples of each liquid into their water skins and tried mixing them, creating a foul smelling purple liquid. The effect was the same when mixed in the basin or when they tried to mix it in the whispering cauldron.

Confused as to the nature of the fluid or its purpose, they kept the samples and made their way back into the Face so as to avoid the lightning traps and headed out through the secret passage uncovered by Castri. As they emerged from the dark corridor into the bright sunlight, they immediately noticed that the awful roar of the dust storm that had raged outside the Face in the Stone had ceased.

The outside air was clear and free of whirling sand; the cloaking wind storm had collapsed. They then noticed several raiders arrayed around the entrance to the Face. They all appeared to be elves, with a tattoo of a snake skull branded on their forehead. Behind the rocks came several shambling human forms, each caked in what looked like salt.

Leaving the Face
The elves appeared shocked to see the party emerge from the Face in the Stone and hailed them. The group claimed to have seen the collapse of the dust storm and went to investigate, looking for ancient treasures, asking the heroes if they had uncovered anything inside the Face. The heroes claimed to have have been simple guards who fled into the Face when the dust storm arose and didn’t venture far into it.

Stating a desire to return to their leader with treasures, the elves proposed that the heroes could search some additional locations that the elves would provide, and all could share in the profit. Vinara sensed that the elves might be stalling, but Morg went over to them to check their map. Without warning Morg was attacked by the elves and the zombies servants, as a group of Tarek raiders appeared over a nearby dune.

Morg fell to the zombies who began to feast on him after the dune striders severely wounded him in the surprise attack. The zombies and the elves suffered under the hail of arrows from Castri, who also unleashed the power of the Crown of Dust to create a whirlwind of sand striking at those nearest to Morg. One of the elves managed to reach Castri who suffered a serious wound before finishing off the elves.

Vinara and Gwyn and bear combined their attacks systematically taking down one Tarek after another. Gwyn conjured blast after blast of fire, slowly cooking them as they pressed their attack. Both of the ladies suffered greatly, but held their ground against the brutes. Vinara was able to work her way towards the dying Morg and eventually used her healing magic to revive him.

Finally on his feet again, he charged the remaining two elves and took them down with a mighty swing of his axe. The elf peddler, Parleth was barely alive and Morg and Castri learned that the group worked for a raider named Yarnath who was rumored to be a powerful defiler. Having learned all they could, the two put the dying elf out of his misery.

The Crawling Citadel
Before they could catch their breath, Vinara spotted a colossal object grinding its way across the sandy desert. The animated skeletons of several giant desert creatures have been fused together into a ghastly structure, well over a hundred feet in length. Built within and upon the animate skeletal construct was an articulated citadel of bones and quarried stone. Humanoids could be seen standing on lookout platforms and peering form turrets and spires. It crawled closer to the Face in the Stone, making a sound like distant thunder.

After a bit of debate, Morg convinced Vinara that hiding within the Face would be a poor choice and the group fled, attempting to evade the citadel and make their way back to Tyr. Gwyn used her magic to summon a mirage about the group, in an effort to obscure them from sight. It took all of the groups strength and endurance to move across the desert quickly, but Castri faltered several times, the visions from the Crown he still wore, causing confusion and disorientation.

Still suffering from the earlier fights, the group stumbled into a patrol of seven Tarek raiders, who set upon them, thinking they had found easy prey. Gwyn’s magic bathed them in sheets of fire while Castri launched arrow after arrow into the oncoming group. Morg summoned every ounce of dwarven endurance in his blood and charged in, swinging his axe wildly. Vinara focused her attacks on Bear’s foes, while attempting to aid the group as best she could.

Miraculously the group survived, but their wounds continued to sap their energy and the week long march back to Tyr would have been too much if they had not happened upon a caravan as they approached to main trade roads.

The Caravan Gate
The entrance into Tyr was slowed by long lines at the Caravan Gate. The Half-Giant guards were thoroughly searching everyone entering the city and assessing new taxes. The group managed to get inside without incident, but found trouble within the city walls. The crowded streets were filled with angry merchants and citizens. In their absence the fragile economy of the free city was beginning to falter.

The precious iron mines had not reopened as it was too expensive to operate without the slave labor used in the past. The iron, which all the other city-states depended on, had stopped flowing and rumors flew about an army marching from Urik to seize control of the city and the mines. In addition, House Wavir had abandoned its position in Tyr, after a failed expedition into the desert left them financially devastated. All of the assets, including a large amount of Morg’s money, had been moved out of the city. Few knew the details of the expedition, but only a few people survived and made it back to Tyr alive.

The heroes were relieved to find that Free City Tattoo had survived the recent turmoil within the city and they all got some much needed rest. Castri visited his friend Karlen to deliver the relics he had found at the Face and collect his cut of the pay. Morg went out to try and find more information about the survivors of the House Wavir expedition and to hire a henchmen who could assist the party in future dungeon explorations.

Lost Treasure
Morg spent the next day going around the city, looking for anyone with more knowledge on the failed House Wavir expedition. Much what he heard confirmed the rumors of a failed journey to find the Vault of Darom Madar and the economic hardship that the house was was under. Eventually he was able to locate the only other survivor, a man named Kelvor. Kelvor told Morg the story of the caravan being ambushed by members of House Tsalaxa and the death of all the members except himself and Rhotan Vor.

Kelvor was asked to look out for Morg and his friends in the hope they would take the opportunity to find the caravan and return the treasures to House Wavir. By doing so they would help restore House Wavir and punish House Tsalaxa, who is well known for nefarious deeds. Morg, keenly interested in helping Rhotan and recovering the treasure, agreed and the two started making arrangements.

Morg was still concerned about the difficulties he and his friends had in overcoming the lightning traps in the Face in the Stone. He felt that if they continued to explore the ancient ruins in Athas, they would surely need assistance to deal with other such obstacles. With a little luck, he found a few candidates that appeared to have the talents for such adventures. One in particular, Merric, stood out as competent and possessing the right personality.

As the two agreed upon a fee for his services, Merric proposed an intriguing offer: He had discovered secret entrance to the Ziggurat of Kalak. Merric felt that Morg and his companions were better suited to deal with the dangers that likely lurked within, while he was the most skilled to deal with the traps. They could explore it together and share in whatever treasures were found. Morg, while extremely interested, felt it might be best to wait before embarking on that exploration.

The Veiled Alliance
Gwyn spent most of her time exploring the city and making contact with the other tattoo artists. Her natural charm was more than enough to over come the distrust that any had because of her elven ancestry. She was pleased that, in a small way, she was a part of the resurgence of art in Tyr.

As the evening approached, Gwyn made her way into the Under-Tyr to meet with her Veiled Alliance cell. The focus of the meeting was Divulgence – should the alliance end their secretive ways and go public. Both supporters and opponents of divulgence spoke with great passion but they could not reach an agreement on how to proceed. Gwyn felt that divulgence should happen, but suggested caution to make sure public would not react violently, after years of being told to hate all arcane casters. It was clear that the debate would continue for some time.

After the formal meeting, Gwyn spent time with her main contact, Jarvix whom she told of the adventures at the Face in the Stone (although nothing was mentioned about the Crown of Dust). The appearance of Yarnath was disturbing, as defilers such as he are the primary reason wizards are outlawed and hated. Jarvix introduced Gwyn to another member of the cell, an elf named Kivrin. Kivrin knew something of Yarnath and suspected that he was searching for the Crown of Dust, and may have already obtained one piece of it. Anxious about such a powerful artifact in the hands of the defiler, Kivrin thought that a small group might be able to sneak aboard Slither and steal the artifact. Gwyn said that she would consider such a quest, but needed to confer with her friends.

After several more hour discussing various magical principles and how she might apply them to her tattoo work, Gwyn, Jarvix and Kivrin let the Alliance meeting and went drinking at the Stiff Wench. They drank broy late into the night and the next morning Gwyn awoke with a massive hangover, and a new tattoo.

Communing with Nature
Vinara spent two days in the desert outside of the city-state conversing with the Wastewalker. The enemy turned ally was most interested in her story of the Face in the Stone, uncovering the fragment of the Crown of Dust and the appearance of Yarnath. The Wastewalker knew a little about Ul-Athra and thought that the creature could be a powerful ally against the Dragon, but cautioned that the primordials are creatures of chaos and very unpredictable in the actions.

The pair was joined by a halfling that the Wastewalker introduced as Nok. Nok had traveled far to bring news of a possible ancient Tree of Life that might exist outside of the sorcerer-king’s control. Such a tree could be used for nearly limitless power for a defiler, such as Yarnath, and must be found and protected at all costs. The Tree might also be used to construct a Heartwood Spear that would be a powerful weapon against the sorcerer-kings. Vinara was to be mindful of signs and dreams about this tree and seek it out, before it is discovered by the wrong people.

A Conflict of Interests
Castri stayed behind at Free City Tattoo and studied the fragment of the Crown of Dust. He had hoped to learn more of its secrets but all he received were strong urges to seek out the other fragments and use the Crown to restore Ul-Athra. Feeling that he had learned all that was possible for the time being, he left the parlor and wandered around the street of Tyr heading towards the Artisan District.

In the district he used some of the money he received from Karlen to commission some art work for the tattoo shop – a statue of himself. He found a skilled Mul stone cutter named Xalos who was looking for work and the two arranged a fair price. As he was leaving the artists shop he was approached by well-dressed man who greeted him by name. An agent of Murter Dyan, the man, asked if Castri could be of service to House Dyan, an enemy of Castri’s former noble house. The service was to search out a potential water source that had come to the attention of Murter, a place call the Cistern of Aravek, so that the water could help the citizens of Tyr. In exchange for location of the Cistern, House Dyan would furnish Castri and his allies with a precious metal weapon each. Cautious, Castri agreed to look into it.

On his way out of the Artisan District, another familiar face Khalos, an agent of Agis, hailed Castri. The pair made their way outside of the city to the House Asticles estates where he met with Agis himself. Direct and to the point, Agis asked if Castri could help locate the Cistern of Aravek, located in the foothills of the Ringing Mountains. Agis desired to control the renewable water source so that all within the city of Tyr could benefit from it. Agis promised to reward Castri and his allies with favors from his House.

Intrigued by the turn of events, Castri made his way back to the tattoo parlor where he was reunited with his companions. Each explained their day’s activities and discussed how best to proceed with the many options in front of them. After a lengthy discussion, they agreed that searching for the Cistern of Aravek was the best choice, after which they would head to the east in an attempt to find the House Tsalaxa caravan.

An Early Morning
Although their course of action had been decided earlier, Morg made one last-ditch effort to convince the group that they should head directly for the House Tsalaxa caravan. The rest of the heroes were still firmly set on finding the Cistern and the all-important water it might contain. Morg sent Merric out to find information on the Cistern of Aravek while he and the others prepared to venture out into the wilderness. Merric found only a little, stories of dwarf tribes in the desert that use a type of “wind trap” to cool their stone dwellings. He thought that, with a bit of magical aid, the traps could collect water. However Merric doubted that a sufficient amount of water could be collected in a reasonable time.

At the same time, Gwyn, still recovering from her wild evening, found her Veiled Alliance contact Jarvix and inquired about what he might know. Jarvix knew something about Aravek, as he was a preserver and a member of the Veiled Alliance in Tyr many centuries ago. Although he was reclusive, his obsession with creating water was well known. Many suspected he was successful, as Kalak, ordered his tower in the Ringing Mountains destroyed and the preserver killed.

Armed with the information and equipped for a journey into the harsh desert, the group set out attempting to find the Cistern as quickly as possible.

The Trail of Aravek
The sun-scorched hills of the Tyr Region stretched before the group as they exited the gates of Tyr. A shimmering heat mirage painted the false lure of water across the horizon before giving way to the soaring peaks of the Ringing Mountains to the west. Compared to this desolate wasteland, the chaos of the great thronging city-state behind you seemed a virtual paradise.

The group made good time through the rough terrain, however, Gwyn’s exertions the previous night slowed her down considerably and Morg needed to support his elf friend for the first few hours. Every vigilant about the dangers of the desert Vinara and Kelvor kept a close watch on their surroundings. When some signs of possible pursuit were noticed Castri quickly (and quietly) located the pursuing group about an hour behind them. The group, a half-dozen strong, was clearly following them and it was decided to set an ambush, should their tail prove to be hostile or competition.

Templar Trouble
Morg and Kelvor remained on the trail, while the others continued ahead and then circled back to hide in the rocks. They didn’t have to wait too long before a small group of humans and dwarves, all armed, came into view and came to a halt when they saw the pair on the trail ahead of them. The group appeared to be lead by a man in white robes who spoke to Morg. Although his story of being lost from a caravan was plausible, his accent revealed him as an Urikite.

Quickly the conversation turned into combat, however, the heroes were more than prepared and not at all surprised when the robed man shouted “We shall return to Tyr as conquerors! For Hamanu and Urik! Kill them!” Castri moved quickly from the rocks and used the Crown of Dust to knock four of the group to the ground. The robed man, most likely a templar of Hamanu, let forth a blast of lightning striking Morg and Kelvor, the ground at his feet turning black with his defiling magic. Morg rushed forward, past the prone guards, and landed a might blow on the templar.

Vinara and Bear closed in as well, finishing off one of the raiders and bolstering Morg’s stamina for the retaliation he was sure to face. The two dwarves were reluctant, but under threats from the templar, they charged Castri and Morg, each inflicting serious wounds. The female, who appeared to be a gladiator, hopped to her feet while smashing Morgs legs, causing him to buckle and fall to the ground. Gwyn continued the assault on the templar, blinding him to her with one of her spells. Kelvor moved in drawing the attention of most of their foes in melee.

In short order the group finishing off their attackers, except for the dwarves, who surrendered as soon as the templar was killed. They explained that the army from Urik had seized control of their village, Kled, and that they had joined the templars group under threats of harm to their families. They confirmed that the templar, Anukim, had been following the heroes in an attempt to ambush them after they located the Cistern. The dwarves were set free with most of the food carried by the Urikite’s.

The Lost Cistern of Aravek
After their brief rest and meal with the dwarves, the heroes continued in their search for the Cistern. Although they were still cautions for signs of pursuit or other dangers, they made good time. Skillfully guided by Vinara’s nature sense and Gwyn’s sense of growing magic, they found that the endless barren landscape suddenly gave way to a lush patch of vegetation near a large hill. Although they could see no water source, there was thriving plant life. A tall rocky spire jutted from the hillside and a cave entrance was visible, yawning open, below it. The entire valley was filled with a strange noise: a thick whistling that sounded much like the world’s largest pair of lungs sucking in a single, great, continuous breath.

It was immediately apparent to the group that they had found their destination and that there was a striking resemblance to the Face in the Stone.

Gith Cave
Even cautious of others attempting to locate this cistern, Castri set out on patrol while his companions decided on a course of action. Morg moved through the thick plant life towards the mouth of the cave. There he could hear the whistling shriek of wind echoing through the cavern. Sunlight lanced down from a hole in the ceiling, painting a bright circle of yellow light over a similar hollow shaft in the cavern floor. The walls glistened with moisture and softly glowing runes around the ceiling opening pulsed in time to the intake of air. Clumps of luminescent fungi could be seen growing from the moist ground, adding an eerie green glow to the shadows beyond the bright circle of light. Morg could make out tall, emaciated humanoids, gith, lounging about the cavern, drinking water from large gourds. Their weapons were close at hand, but they were hardly prepared for battle.

Motioning for the others to join him, the rest of the group moved quietly up to the mouth of the cave as well. Unfortunately, Kelvor was not accustomed to the dangers of plant life and tripped over some fallen branches, making enough of a disturbance that the gith detected it, even over the sound of the wind. Within moments they were armed and ready for battle.

The gith leader and his savages charged into melee with the heroes, inflicting serious wounds on Morg and Kelvor. The drones attempted to use the Way to push the heroes into the pit. Although Morg initially resisted their pull, he eventually succumbed and nearly fell in, barely saving himself at the last moment. The gith hobblers lobbed one javelin after another at the melee, striking their targets many times, but never completely pinning them down.

Locked in melee with the creatures, Morg and Kelvor attempted to keep their allies from harm, and were mostly successful. However each suffered numerous injuries and if not for the healing powers of Vinara, they surely would have perished. She and her companions held their own in melee and were quick to finish off the wounded gith. Gwyn used her magic to take down their enemies as quickly as she could, while also keeping herself shielded from attacks. Although the battle was fierce and the situation desperate at times, she resisted the urge to defile in the lush vegetation.

In the end, two of the gith ended up being pushed into the hole in the floor, while the rest will killed. When the combat was finished, the group too a quick rest to tend to their wounds and search the cave. Although none of the food the gith had was edible, there was plenty of fresh water. The gith leader carried a small quartz lens that Gwyn identified as magical, although its properties were still a mystery, as were the precise workings of the magic runes in the cavern.

The Cistern
After recovering from the fight with the gith, Morg descended down the hollow shaft into the cistern below. The bright light and howling winds above gave way to the cool darkness of the cistern. The only light below was a wan, green glow produced by clumps of fungi that did little to dispel the gloom of the cramped space.

Although the cistern was obviously not full, Morg had never imagined that so much water could exist in one place. As Morg finished his descent, he landed in a wide, irregularly shaped pool that divided the cistern in half. The waters were still, clear and came up to his knees. The ceiling of the cistern was only about 6 feet above the ground causing him to stoop over awkwardly.

Seeing no immediate danger and no sign of the two gith that were tossed into the cistern, the rest of the group lit their torches and followed Morg down. They spread out and began to search the cave. Vinara and the rest of the group uncovered signs of a struggle and a the remains of the gith, which appeared to have been badly mauled and partially eaten. Morg, off on his own, found nothing, unfortunately, something found him.

A horrific beast, roughly the size of an erdlu, appeared out of the darkness. It was a quadruped and covered in a rock-like hide with jutting spikes of stone and crystal. Its cat-like head had large ears, reddish eyes and a wide jaw filled with dagger-like fangs. The malign intelligence behind its glowing eyes was the most horrific aspect. This creature could only be a tembo.

The tembo tore into Morg with its claws and fangs and draining him of the will to fight. It only switched to attack Kelvor when he used the Way to get the beasts attention. The beasts mere presence was draining the life from the heroes as the fought it. Its great speed and ferocity left none safe. The heroes were unable to consistently inflict damage, as the beasts hide was tough and its magical nature made is resistant to Gwyn’s spells.

The group had to use every trick they could think of to keep the creature for killing them all outright. Morg’s training in the arena and Kelvor’s use of the Way allowed them some degree of control over the creature, but it was far stronger than the realized. Vinara kept them both alive while she and her companions attempted to help take down the monster. Gwyn, although her spells were often resisted, was able to severely wound the tembo. Morg eventually fell to it and was knocked unconscious, only kept alive by his hardy mul heritage. Eventually Vinara was able to revive Morg and the beast finally fell to her staff and Gwyn’s fire.

More exhausted than ever before the group collapsed in the cistern and rested until their strength returned. During their rest, they searched the cistern but found nothing of value, other than the water itself. Morg hauled the carcass of the tembo up into the main cave in order to bring it back to Tyr as a trophy. During their rest Vinara sense that they were further from the Tree of Life then they were in Tyr.

Return to Tyr
Outside of the cave they reunited with Castri and made an uneventful journey back to Tyr. Outside of the city they stopped by the House Asticles estates to confer with Agis. They informed him of the location of the Cistern and the senator immediately dispatched his remaining personal guards to secure the precious water supply. The heroes were invited to spend a few days resting at the estates.

While at the estates Agis offered to train them, so that they would have stronger defenses against users of the Way. Those who fought the tembo found themselves strangely strengthened by the experience. Agis was able to arrange for the hide of the tembo to be turned into a suit of armor for Morg.

They also learned from Agis that the looming war with Urik was beginning to take its toll on the city. The former gladiators were anxious to see combat and unwilling to wait until all of the army was ready to march. He feared that if they weren’t controlled they would march out to certain doom and the safety of Tyr would be in more jeopardy. However, the gladiators were not the only problem – there was growing tension between the craftsmen and the merchant houses with accusations of price-gouging on war supplies and worries of a trade embargo threatened to undermine the war preparations. Morg and Kelvor agreed to investigate the situations.

Blood Lust
Morg, Castri, Vinara and Kelvor journeyed to meet up with the gladiators and try and convince them to wait to march until the rest of the army was ready. They found the gladiators assembled near the arena being addressed by the veteran gladiator Quick Wenzer. He was talking to the gladiators and encouraging them to leave Tyr early and march out against the army from Urik. Tired of waiting on the “fat nobles” and eager for action, the gladiators were clearly in agreement.

When Morg and his allies attempts to sway the gladiators opinion met with mixed success. While the crowd acknowledged Morg’s skill during the Festival of the Cooling Sun tournament and their fame at killing a tembo swayed some, most were not convinced that such a young gladiator knew more than the veteran.

Muscling his way onto the stage where Wenzer was speaking, Morg challenged him to a duel, to prove who was the superior warrior. A long and bloody battle ensued, with both combatants having their share of successes and failures. Morg’s rage kept able to fight, despite Wenzer’s more mobile style and precise strikes with his swords. Several times Morg fell as his legs were targetted, but each time he managed to get up and keep fighting. When both combatants were nearly exhausted, Morg dealt a powerful blow, shattering his axe and knocking Wenzer down. Mercifully, Morg allowed Wenzer to live, and the gladiators were convinced that the best course of action was to wait and fight with the rest of the army from Tyr.

Divulgence
While the others were off trying to keep the gladiators under control, Gwyn met with some of her contacts in the Veiled Alliance to discuss the matter of their divulgence. The hotly debated topic had been debated since the fall of Kalak but no agreement was reached. Many feared that openly announcing their magical ways would invite violence again them by the citizens. Others countered that in a free society they wouldn’t need to fear such reprisals and could do more good then they could as a secret society.

At her cell’s meeting Gwyn met with Jarvix, Kivrin and others to discuss their plan for going forward, hoping that if they could reach a decision, it might inspire the other cells to follow their lead. Gwyn argued that they should not be forced to simply survive as outlaws but that they deserved to thrive and work to change the opinions of common people. She felt that with the gladiators of Tyr as their allies (not knowing that Morg would be successful in his quest), they would have less to fear. She also suggested that if they publicly defended Tyr against the invading Urik army, that they would do well to show their good intentions.

Easily swaying her associates to her way of thinking, the group decided to go public and lend their support to the war effort. They meeting broke up and the members went to meet their other cells and spread word. Hopeful that the decision was correct, Gwyn left and went to meet up with her friends back at Free City Tattoo.

Voice of the People
On their way back to Free City Tattoo, the encountered a mob a people near their shop. The mob was listening to a human speak and as the group moved closer, they could hear his words…

People of Tyr, hear me! You are being deceived! In your blindness for freedom you have only traded one tyrant for an-other. Gone is Kalak the Murderous; here is Tithian and his lying council. Even now they lie and plot against you.

“Were you not told that an army marched upon Tyr, intent on destroying you all? That if you did not rise up and take arms the evil King Hamanu of Urik would slaughter your men, torture your women, and enslave your children? Was this not the truth, you say? I tell you these were lies! Who among you has spoken to King Hamanu of Urik? Who among you has asked him why he comes to the aid of riot-torn Tyr? Only those, your councilors, who claim he is an enemy —only those whose wealth and power is threatened!

“King Hamanu comes not to enslave but to free you from your slave-lords. Even as far as distant Urik, he has heard the cries of the oppressed and injured and those cries moved him. Who among you feels safe at night from the gangs and thugs of our ‘elected’ councilors? Who among you will speak out against this tyranny and stand against this unjust war? Resist injustice! Fight the true enemy!”

Castri, having no patience for such speeches, loosed an arrow from his bow and struck the speaker dead. Stunned and enraged, the crowd turned towards the ranger with malice in their eyes and moved to attack him and his friends. Soothing magic from Gwyn stalled the crowd long enough for Morg, Castri and Kelvor to stop the crowd from assaulting them. However, it was only when the clothing of the man, named Puram, was found to be matching the robes of the Templar of Urik that Morg carried, was the crowd finally convinced that they were deceived by his speeches.

Although some were embarrassed by such deception most turned their anger towards Urik and many left the gathering to enlist in the army. Able to finally return to their home, the friends took a much needed rest, although morning would come far too soon for most.

Supply and Demand
The following morning the group traveled to the merchant district to try and solve the dispute between the craftsmen and the merchant houses. The Caravan District was in total chaos as tensions between the craftsmen and the merchant houses had reached new peak. The craftsmen, convinced that the merchant houses were gouging the prices because of the war, had blocked the doors to the merchant emporiums, trapping the merchant house representative Sintha in his offices, with only a handful of guards keeping him safe. Out from the storefront, the craftsmen representative, Turloff, could be seen standing on a wagon, haranguing the crowd.

Accurately gauging the mood of the crowd and the mercenaries (who were wearing the markings of the Red Cord), the party moved quickly to try and diffuse the situation. First going to Turloff, they listen to his accusations of the merchant house’s price gouging and the hardships that the craftsmen are having to endure. He reluctantly agrees to another meeting with Sintha, with the party as moderators.

It took more effort to get to Sintha, as the Red Cord guards were unwilling to let them pass into the emporium. Eventually the party bribed them to let them pass, appealing to their mercenary nature. Sintha was quite displeased at the intrusion and refuted all of Turloff’s claims, stating that is was an unfortunate reality of the impending war. With some convincing, he was convinced to meet with Turloff.

Their meeting was hot-tempered and filled with a great many accusations of corruption and unfair business practices. Eventually the party was able to find a compromise to the situation: Obsidian. One of the steepest cost increases was on the supply of obsidian, as Urik had stopped shipments and now occupied the dwarven village of Kled. Sintha’s merchant houses were forced to raise all their prices to compensate for the extreme losses they were having to take. The party agreed that they would work to secure obsidian shipments from Kled if Sintha would lower the prices somewhat.

Lost Treasure
While the rest of the group rested, Merric uncovered an interesting piece of news – the local House Tsalaxa representative recently received a message and shortly afterwards, started to make preparation to leave the city. Most thought that he was heading out to avoid trouble with Urik, but Merric wondered if they might be heading out to help deal with the treasure recovered from the Vault of Darom Madar.

Having no other leads on how to find the caravan after so much time, the group decided that they would follow the House Tsalaxa expedition and hope that it will lead them to their objective.

Evening Preparations
The rest of the evening was mostly uneventful for the group, as they prepared for the journey the following morning. Gwyn opened the tattoo shop and had some customers; gladiators who were inspired to join the army and wanted a tattoo for their regiment. She carefully used her magic to aid her work. After the shop had been closed, Morg asked Gwyn about the possibility of repairing his magical axe, having broken it during his fight with Quick Wenzer. Gwyn, becoming more experienced in her magical abilities, knew that it could be repaired and arranged for it to be worked on while they were away.

Merric set about gathering information on House Tsalaxa in the hope of finding out something useful before they started to follow them. He was only able to uncover rumors of the house’s involvement in espionage, assassination and blackmailing schemes. They also had a reputation for dealing in “recovered” cargo, furthering their suspicions that they were responsible for the attack on the House Wavir caravan and Kelvor. During this time Castri went to the Artisan District to check on the statue that he had commissioned. With the war effort going on, he found it would be at least a few weeks before it was finished.

House Tsalaxa
In the early morning the group gathered their belongings and headed out of the city, while Castri waited near the House Tsalaxa warehouses. Shortly a group emerged from the warehouses and headed out of the city. The group consisted of three kanks, a pair of half-giants and a half-dozen men. Castri joined up with his companions and they followed about a mile behind them.

For three days they trailed the House Tsalaxa group, making sure that they appeared to be nothing more than a small group that happened to be travelling in the same direction. While they did encounter other travelers on their journey, most were hurrying on their way and did not stop to talk. After the third day the group turned east, following the road leading to the Silver Spring Oasis.

One caravan that was encountered during the fourth day was a House M’ke caravan headed west towards Tyr with a load of nuts and spices. They stopped to talk for a few moments when Gwyn hailed them as they passed. They had nothing of value to say about the group from House Tsalaxa nor did they have any knowledge of any recently uncovered ruins. They did mention that their caravans were having a number of run-ins with raiders bearing a snake skull mark, but they mysteriously stopped recently.

Night Terrors
On their fifth night, they group decided to investigate the Tsalaxa camp and try and learn more. Gwyn and Castri crept up to their camp and saw two of the men discussing a map while the others were either resting or taking turns watching with the half-giants. After observing them for a while, they overheard them mentioning it was a week further until they reached the “fort”. Shortly after they put the map away into a large pack and settled in for the night.

Castri started to head back to his camp, but Gwyn, in an impulsive moment used her magic to turn herself invisible and moved into the Tsalaxa camp. She reached the large pack without being noticed and rather than try to search for the map case, she grabbed the entire pack and started to run. One of the goliath’s noticed the missing pack and just caught sight of Gwyn as her magic faded. Rousing the camp, they all chased after Gwyn into the night.

Gwyn’s long elven strides allowed her to slowly gain ground on her pursuers, but several of the guards were able to keep pace long enough to fire arrows, several of which wounded her. Before too long she caught up with Castri, who had turned around when he heard the commotion and realized that Gwyn had stayed behind. The two continued to run, hoping to rejoin their group before having to face the wrath of House Tsalaxa.

Vinara, Morg and Kelvor had heard the sounds of trouble and, fearing that Castri and Gwyn had gotten into trouble, began to run to help them. They met up with each other near some low rocks and quickly took cover and the House Tsalaxa forces descended upon them. Kelvor lured a robed human into a poor position and he was quickly cut down. The half-giants and the other human proved much harder to take down and the party suffered many serious wounds. Vinara and Morg were both briefly knocked out during the fight and everyone, except for Castri were badly wounded before the fight ended.

Things took a turn for the worse when the archers arrived and began pelting the group with arrows. The party was not able to concentrate on any one particular target effectively, causing the fight to last a long time. Eventually they wore down their opponents and the House Tsalaxa forces began to fall one by one, with Merric dealing most of the final blows. Exhausted and bloody, the group subdued the human instead of killing him, hopeful that he would rather answer questions then be put to death.

A Not-So-Peaceful Night
While the group was resting from the long battle and tending to their wounds, they went through the stolen backpack and examined the map. The map appeared to be a mundane map of the tablelands and the backpack contained various supplies and several survival days, and a green crystal. Gwyn could tell that the crystal possessed some form of arcane magic although she wasn’t completely familiar with it.

While the rest of the group decided what to do with the captives from the House Tsalaxa caravan, Gwyn moved off by herself and attempted to discover how to use the crystal. As she concentrated on it, attempting to use its powers, she detected strong divination magic. Shortly thereafter a face appeared in her mind, as though he was recently awoken from sleep.

“What is it? Is everything okay? Who are you?” the man asked, clearly not expecting Gwyn.
Quickly thinking, Gwyn answered, “Everything’s fine, I’m Esmerelda.”
The man grunted, “Tell Haneth that he shouldn’t let his whores go through his belongings, now put that away and stop bothering me.”

Gwyn, recognizing that she had narrowly avoided a potentially awkward situation, decided to put the crystal away and return to the camp. There she found the others in discussion about what to ask their captives. They had also decided that they should return to the House Tsalaxa camp and recover any other supplies. It was agreed that Gwyn, Merric and Kelvor would interrogate their prisoners and that Morg, Castri and Vinara would go raid the camp.

Morg, Castri and Vinara found their way back to the camp without incident and were able to get the three kanks under control. They picked up all the equipment and survival supplies they could, loaded the kanks up and headed back. Along the way, Castri spotted a female elf, perhaps the one that they had captured, in the distance. Acting on instinct he fired a shot and struck her down. When the searched her body, they found some survival supplies and a several gold in ceramic coins. They continued back to their camp, unsure as to what really transpired.

Shortly before…

Gwyn, Kelvor and Merric began by interrogating their human captive. After several threats to him, he revealed his name – Tyron Tsalaxa of House Tsalaxa. He claimed to be heading out of Tyr after closing up their operations before the armies of Urik arrived and heading to Raam. With further pressure applied he claimed to have no direct knowledge of the Vault of Darom Madar or what happened to the House Wavir caravan. Although he did appear to be telling the truth, everyone felt he might be holding back.

They switched to the captive elf, who appeared much more willing to cooperate, as she claimed to be a hired mercenary. She confirmed that they were heading to Raam by way of the Silver Spring Oasis but claimed to be ignorant of anything else regarding House Wavir or the Vault. Kelvor gave her some coins for her trouble as well as some supplies to help her survive the trip to the Oasis and let her go. Her journey was cut short by an arrow from Castri…

When the whole group got back together and the truth about the elf captive was revealed, there was little remorse by anyone other that Gwyn and Kelvor. Castri lead a brutal interrogation of Tyron but not additional information was gained. They all felt he would be too much trouble if he were set free and so bound him to a kank.

The group had a lively discussion on how they should proceed from their current location. Morg pushed for continuing to search for the treasure, but none of them knew where to start looking. Kelvor wanted to head north to Kled to aid the dwarves, repay their debt to the merchant houses of Tyr, and possible disrupt the forces of King Hamanu. Gwyn and Castri were concerned about the activities of Yarnath and his search for the other pieces of the Crown of Dust. Eventually they agreed with Vinara, that finding the Tree of Life would be the best option and that they could regroup at the Silver Springs Oasis.

Silver Springs Oasis
In the cooler morning air, they headed east towards the Oasis and three days later they arrived at the gates to the Silver Spring Oasis, the looming fortress-like stone walls providing protection against the desert creatures. After paying a large fee for entrance of their caravan, the group was admitted into the interior of the compound. Free to explore around the group split up, each trying to accomplish their objectives while spending as little time in the Silver Hands’ compound.

Vinara made her way to the actual oasis inside the compound and began to commune with her spirit allies, attempting to ascertain the location of the Tree of Life. The abundant life around the Oasis filled her with hope for the future of Athas and allowed her to start searching for the Tree. After many hours she felt a strong primal presence to the southeast and felt the call of a primal spirit in need. Feeling sure that she could guide the party to the location, she felt a renewed sense of purpose.

Gwyn wandered about and, after seeing tents clearly intended for use by defilers, she made her way into the Tent of Delights to listen to general gossip. She discovered that the Silver Hand elves’ chief, Toramund, was actively recruiting defilers to help defend the compound. What she found more disturbing was that most of the people there were more concerned with the fact that none of their own had the power he wanted and that he was looking outside of the tribe. The Oasis had been attacked in the past by their main rivals, the Sun Runners, and Toramund wanted to be able to defend the Oasis better than they had in the past.

Castri and Morg attempted to ransom Tyron to Toramund, hoping the elf chief would be interested and find him to be a valuable captive. Merric stayed behind to guard Tyron until the deal could be struck. After bribing their way past his guards, the pair were admitted to see Toramund. With some negotiations, they agreed on a reasonable price for Tyron and the deal was struck and Tyron was released into the elf’s custody. Tyron was silent throughout this entire ordeal.

Kelvor wandered around the traveler’s camp and a few other areas attempting to make contact with mercenaries and learn anything he could. A lot of the discussion was on the war between Urik and Tyr and the increased danger creating good opportunities for guard duty. He attempted to sell the kanks, but was unable to arrive at a price that was satisfactory.

When they met back up at their tents, they shared their activities and the coins from Toramund. Gwyn and Kelvor found their purses to be lighter than they expected, undoubtedly the victim of their hosts light fingers. They all slept well that night, getting a much needed rest, except for Castri who stood watch the entire night.

Eyes in the Dark
Castri’s watch over his friends in the traveler’s camp of the Silver Spring Oasis was interrupted when he felt like someone or something was watching him. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary, but, just to be sure, he woke Morg and then slipped into the shadows and tried to determine who might be spying on them. Neither were able to discover who, if anyone, was observing them. The rest of the night passes without incident.

In the morning, the others in the group were informed of the night’s events as they prepared to leave the Oasis and travel in search of the Tree of Life. Gwyn finally realized that she had been sensing magic from the oasis market and decided to take a quick trip to see if there was anything of interest. While most of the merchandise was junk, at worst, or poorly crafted, at best, there were two items that caught her attention – a suit of scorpion scale armor and a set of scrolls.

Although she was unable to tell what the scrolls contained, she was able to sense strong magic from them. With the help of Vinara and Castri she was able to purchase the scrolls after some hard bargaining. Upon further study she found that it contained an enchantment that would sharpen the perception and other senses of the one who read the scrolls. Although she offered the scrolls to her friends, they all agreed that it would be more beneficial for her to use their magic.

The suit of armor was not only magical, but possessed power of the Way as well. Although Gwyn was able to bargain with the seller of this item, he would not go as low as they had hoped. Ultimately they pooled the last of their cash and used it, along with two of their kanks, to purchase the armor. Kelvor found that the armor was a perfect fit and that the power imbued into it would help protect him from some attacks against his mind.

A Storm of Revelation
For three days the group traveled south and east out of the Silver Spring Oasis and into the rocky badlands. Kelvor and Merric took the bulk of the supplies that the kanks had been carrying. Morg help clear a path at Vinara’s direction while Castri and Gwyn kept an eye out for any pursuit or trouble. Each had become accustomed to the harsh travel conditions, and they all made their way through without incident.

On the morning of the forth day, while the crimson sun was still low on the horizon, the wind began to steadily increase. Guided by Vinara, they headed towards something flickering on the horizon, what appeared to be towering cyclone of dust, confined to a small area. Moving closer still, two large rocky outcroppings could be glimpsed in the circling dust.

The group was forced to cover their mouths to shield against the choking dust as they moved into the edges of the storm. Sparks of energy were seen flickering throughout the dust, but quickly disappearing. Occasional gaps in the dust allowed them to make out a flat area between the rocks. Suddenly, from the whipping dust, a snarling tembo emerged. It is emaciated, scarred and slightly unsteady on its feet, but its eyes gleamed with ferocity. A second tembo, much healthier looking than the first emerged from behind the party.

Having faced a tembo before, the group knew their nature, but two tembos was something that was extraordinarily rare. The fight was intense and required an unprecedented amount of teamwork, with Morg engaging the wounded tembo and Kelvor keeping the rear tembo occupied. Vinara and Bear help against both tembos, tending to the wounds of their companions. Castri and Merric concentrated their attacks on one tembo at a time. Gwyn used her magic to disguise her allies from the tembo’s senses. The group emerged victorious from the fight, but injured. Unfortunately the howling winds prevented them from taking a moment to rest.

An Entrance Long Awaited
Still battered by the winds, the group was unable to take any time to tend to the injuries they suffered from the fight with the tembos. Vinara used her magic to try and calm the spirits of the land which were causing the cyclone of dust and sand. She appeased the spirits, and when the winds died down a clump of exposed boulders in the ravine could be seen. Among the freshly exposed rocks, they saw a green vine pushing up through a crack between the rocks. Looking closer, the crack that the vine emerged from look like it could be edge of a stone trapdoor.

Castri scouted out now that the blowing sand was not obscuring the visibility. To their relief, there was nothing visible as far as he could see. Morg quickly skinned the hides of the tembos to gather more materials for another suit of hide armor and then helped remove the rubble from on top of the trap door. Cautious, based on their previous experiences in ancient crypts, Merric checked the door for traps, but found nothing. Gwyn was unable to sense magic from the door, but felt a powerful font of arcane energy from deep within the earth. With no immediate danger or winds, they were able to tend to their wounds quickly.

Vinara easily lifted the heavy stone door to reveal a dark sloping passageway which lead underground. As they descended, they saw signs of battle – skeletons littered the floor and rotted weapons of ancient design were scattered among them. So old were the weapons that no metal or anything of value remained. The walls of the chamber were covered in growing vines. As the group lit torches and started to move forward, a faint scratching sounds could be heard coming from ahead of them. Suddenly, a rasping voice called out from the darkness…

“Leafnes, ambitmeges of Lubar. We laestan to Avor Faeroath, voo nerians gafolmanug on his Treow.”

The language was old a difficult to understand, although some of the words were familiar. Castri and Vinara thought the voice was addressing them as members of House Lubar and told them to leave. They recognized Avor Firesworn as a proper name, but the context was unclear to them. Gwyn, having spent more time at study than the others, had a different interpretation..

“Be gone, servants of House Lubar. We harken to Avor Firesworn, who defends still this refuge and its tree.”

Not wanting to waste time or try and negotiate the group moved deeper into the chamber. The scraping sounds increased and flickering shadows at the edge of their torchlight could be seen. When they came to an intersection, the group split up, two going down each of the three passageways. As they rounded the corners, three ghostly figures appeared out of the walls. At the same time, pallid grey zombies emerged from the darkness, crawling on the ceilings and walls, dropping down and moving towards the group.

The fight was nearly too much for the group to handle. Castri was brutally attacked by one of the spirits and although Vinara lifted him to safety with her magic, the spirit continued to pursue him. A few volley’s from his bow took down the majority of the zombies, but eventually he was knocked unconscious by the cold claws of the ghosts. Kelvor and Morg engaged a second ghost and were unable to injure it before it could land several horrible wounds on Kelvor. Eventually they recovered from the numbing cold and were able to defeat their ghost, but Morg’s axe broke in the conflict, forcing him to rely on his handaxe instead.

Gwyn unleashed a fury of burning fire and lightning at the spirits, but they were more resilient to her magic then she expected. She was so focues that her staff and dagger were both consumed in her casting. Merric was able to toss her a dagger to use as a new implement during the fight. Merric’s own combat with the ghosts did not go well either, their claws easily piercing his flesh and chilling his soul. Vinara was able to call upon her primal magic and the spirits of the land to help ease the pain of her companions wounds.

Eventually the group was able to overcome the vengeful ghosts and their zombie minions. Their wounds were severe and Vinara’s companion, Bear, was overcome by one of the ghosts. Vinara was able to call back his spirit and restore him to life before they moved on further into the chamber.

Competitors?
The group limped along the central passageway for several hundred feet before it stopped descending and opened into a large natural cavern. A thick carpet of glowing moss covered the walls and floor. The air was cool and sweet with moisture and the smell of flowers. Pools of water could be seen in shallow depressions and the faint trickling of water down the walls could be heard.

The group explored the cavern quickly and found a second passageway out of the caver on the north side. While they explored, a clicking sound could be heard from the northern passageway. Soon, a thri-kreen with mottled brown, yellow and greed carapace emerged from the shadows and faced the party. More thri-kreen began to emerge from the tunnel, five in all. The group of insect-men were armed and outfitted as adventuring types. The one in front spoke in a clicking form of common, saying…

“Our clutch has come for the life-seed. Drop your pointed sticks and depart, or we consume your hind-limb meat.”

Castri reached for his bow, but the others calmed him down and attempted to negotiate. Gwyn addressed the thri-kreen telling them that they had been sent here to protect the tree. Vinara demonstrated that she was adept at nature magic which calmed some of their fears. They appeared to begin to trust the heroes when Gwyn demonstrated her preserving magic and they become much more agitated. The thri-kreen appeared to be on a mission recover a “life seed” and were willing to die to protect it.

Eventually a compromised was reached – the thri-kreen were convinced that Gwyn and the others were meant to help them reach the seed. The thri-kreen were insistent that they would take the seed back to help bring about a new time of growing for their land, called Ka-la-tak. With an uneasy truce made, both groups took a moment to rest before continuing to explore the caverns.

Cycles of Life
During their short rest, the heroes learned a bit more of about their Thri-Kreen competitors and their journey to look for the seed. Before venturing further into the caverns, Chao-ka (the thri-kreen’s leader) insisted that they leave behind guards as “we have felt the footsteps of others who seek this place”. Castri volunteered to remain behind with three of the thri-kreen, while Chao-ka and Chai-Tak made the descent with the rest of the group.

The spiral stairs opened into a cool, fresh cavern that was blanketed with growing plants. Grass covered the floor, and vines clung to the walls and dangled from the ceiling. Water poured from two small fountains carved in the shape of a lion’s head. A beautiful and ancient conifer tree stood at the far end of the room, and a faint green radiance seemed to emanate from it.

In contrast to that idyllic scene, several skeletons stood at attention. Their empty, malevolent eye sockets were turned directly toward the heroes. Other forms that seemed to be composed of little more than the desiccated remains of dismembered and mummified arms, legs, and hands began to drag themselves across the room.

Hovering in front of the tree was a humanoid figure. What remained of its flesh and its ancient armor were blackened and charred. Fire crackled from its burnt fingers, and its voice echoed telepathically. “Doth House Lubar still desire to torment us after so long an age? We welcome you, and we shall render unto you the wages of hate that we have nursed these many long years.”

A deadly battle ensued between the guardians of the tree and the heroes. The swarms of arms and hangs proved exceptionally resilient to the attacks of Kelvor and Morg. Avor targeted the two warriors with fiery attacks knocking Morg unconscious several times. Gwyn, who’s magic was more effective against the creatures fell under the relentless attacks of claws and hands. Only a supreme act of willpower allowed her to regain consciousness.

Chao-ka was not as lucky and was consumed by the crawling masses. Although Vinara could have used her magic to restore him to life, she chose to save her powers for her close friends. Merric was slowly moving around the edges of the cavern in an attempt to get into good position against Avor and joined with Morg and Kevlor in taking him down. The swarms of limbs continued to harass the party but were eventually destroyed.

Hard Choices
The battered adventurers tended their wounds, attempting to determine what to do next. There was a great debate between the heroes on the best course of action with their thri-kreen and the seed of life. Eventually they agreed that it would be best to honor their bargain and allow the seed to be taken the the thri-kreen lands, where it would be safe from the sorcerer-kings.

Morg and Merric searched the room and discovered a small chest buried beneath the tree’s roots. Inside Merric discovered a silver headband and a pair of leather boots, both bearing strange markings and designs that appeared to be elven, but were obviously ancient. Morg kept the headband and gave the boots to Merric.

There were also a set of stone tablets with strange writing on them that none could decipher. Chai-Tak gave Gwyn a scroll for the body of Chao-ka, that contained a magical ritual. Gwyn was able to use the ritual to decipher the writing and learn a bit about what befell Avor Firesworn and his followers.

Vinara, Gwyn and Kelvor used their combined talent to attempt to draw forth the Heartwood Spear from the Tree of Life. It took all of their effort, but the tree yielded to them and Vinara withdrew a wooden spear. As she did so, the ancient tree finally yielded to the centuries and died, its wood turning grey and the last leaves falling.

Chai-Tak moved to the tree of life and plucked the seed from its limb. Content to let his new allies discuss and search. He patiently waited to return to his clutch-mates and begin the journey home. Morg and Vinara meditated on the seed as instructed by the tablets and they felt a great sense of responsibility towards the seed. Neither could tell if the emotion was theirs or whether the seed was attempting to communicate with them.

Castri and the other thri-kreen were not to be found in the first cave. Their tracks appear to lead back along the path taken by the heroes. Assuming that they sought to secure the main entrance, the group continued on. Along the way back to the surface, Kelvor kicked one of the skulls in the first passageway. As he did so, something caught his eye, shining in the torchlight. Digging through the rubble and remains, he found two silver pendants each portraying a lion’s head. He quietly picked them up and caught up with the group.

At the entrance to the surface, the group met with an unexpected, and unwelcome surprise. Instead of Castri and the other thri-kreen, they found a literal army. Two humans, each bearing the snake-skull mark of Yarnath the defiler. They were surrounded by a number of skeletal warriors and other humanoids wrapped in rotting rags. In the back a large figure that appeared to be made of salt stood at attention. The group quickly backed into the tunnel and prepared for a siege.

More Hard Choices
The group could hear the shuffling of Yarnath’s forces outside the door, but there were no other sounds or indications of what might be going on. Deciding that, while they could try to find the other exit from the cave system, they couldn’t in good conscience leave Castri to a horrible fate, assuming that he was still out there.

Vinara used her primal magic to bolster Gwyn’s health, having been severely wounded during the previous fights while searching for the Tree of Life. Kevlor focused on his body and spirit, channeling the Way and preparing for a deadly fight. When they were as prepared as possible, Morg and Kelvor opened the door and rushed out into the dazzling sunlight.

The forces of Yarnath were prepared for an attack, but their spokesman addressed the charging mul and human. “Yarnath has read the prophetic signs. We know that you retrieved a seed from a primordial tree of life in these ruins. Hand it over or die.” Not wanting to have such a powerful object in the hands of the defiler as well as not trusting his forces to let them live, they pressed the attack.

The forces of Yarnath set up an effective line with the zombies and mummies screening the two defilers and a legion of skeletons. Morg, Merric and Kelvor attempted to break through the line with Vinara, Chai-Tak and Gwyn provided support. Their previous combats had left them all exhausted and they quickly were worn down in the prolonged fight.

The Soul Collector
All around the party was the fury and chaos of battle. Blood from numerous cuts was streaming down their armor. Suddenly, all sound stopped. Everything that had been a blur of motion moments ago, including the party, was locked in place. Somehow they were still aware of their surroundings and the passage of time.

An unearthly, metallic message echoed in each of their minds;

“Your flesh unwinds. Soon, your projection will pass across the barrier to this side. You will not be able to protect the life seed. Your quest need not end this way. I offer my protection to you, if you desire it. There is a price. Do you accept it?”

Kelvor wondered what the price would be. In response to his thought, the voice spoke to each of them again;

“My covenant with you would be this: My shadow will reside near your flesh. When projections are unbound from the flesh, I will be there to collect them. In return, I will confound your enemies so that you might go away from this place. This covenant will bind you for three cycles.”

Morg was concerned about what harm might befall those that accepted, as this situation was similar to the one described in Avor Firesworn’s writings. Once again the voice spoke to each of them;

“No direct harm will accrue to you from my shadow’s presence. Indeed, when it rides upon you, you will have less reason to fear the son of air, but more fear for air’s daughters.”

Unsure as to the exact meaning of the voice’s words, there was some hesitancy, but knowing the dire situation, all of the party felt they had little choice but to hope for the best and accept the entities offer. Once they made up their minds, it spoke once again;

“The covenant is bound, the the ether resumes its flow.”

Time began to flow normally once again, but many of the heroes foes remained frozen, including the two spell casters and the large salt golem. The heroes felt the intensity of the sun lessen slightly, no doubt a result of the “shadow” they had associated themselves with. Despite a number of their foes being incapacitated, the rest of the fight was fought tooth and nail. Their resources exhausted, Merric was knock unconscious, Vinara and Kelvor were barely able to stand and Morg was knocked down and began to be eaten by one of the zombies.

Eventually the group was able to defeat the last of their foes, but only with moments to spare. Vinara was to stabilize Merric and they searched the bodies of their foes. Gwyn claimed the spellbook and staff from the defiler but there was little else besides a few days worth of supplies. Within the nearby rocks, they found the bodies of the three missing thri-kreen, all having signs of being beaten and burned.

Vinara located some tracks which appeared to be several humanoids, some wearing boots and others apparently barefoot. She spotted on the northern horizon a few figures just disappearing over a sand dune. Beyond that she saw some movement, perhaps the citadel of Yarnath.

They retreated back into the caverns for a much needed rest before heading out after Castri. They all agreed that rescuing him and preventing Yarnath from having both pieces of the Crown, was of the utmost importance. Vinara was able to summon enough strength, aided by Gwyn and Kelvor, to revive Morg, although he spoke cryptically of a gray land where he felt as if he was beginning to dissolve.

Entering Slither
As the group rested after their long fight with the forces of Yarnath, they each noticed something unsettling: they appeared to cast darker shadows than normal, their torches appeared to burn less brightly, fleeting shadows could be seen in their peripheral vision and images of flowing darkness and anguished souls filled their dreams. They did not speak of their observations.

Morg and Gwyn found the wounds they had suffered from the mummy’s attack were particularly painful, but otherwise there didn’t appear to be any lasting ill effects. Morg and Vinara felt particularly refreshed after resting near the seed of the Tree of Life. After their rest, the companions headed out to find Castri and the recover another piece of the Crown of Dust.

They were able to pick up the trail of slither and although it had several hours head start, they pushed hard and were able to catch up to it in the night, making their approach safer. As they approached, they were awed by its massive size. Turrets and sharp spires rising crookedly from the mekillot shell structure. Several shapes could be seen moving on top of most of the towers. Gwyn couldn’t remember many of the details of her conversation with her associate Kivrin of the Veiled Alliance, but she remembered that approaching from the front would be suicide.

The group decided to approach from the side and scale the monstrosity and enter from the roof of one of the read towers. The approach was not easy and Kelvor and Merric quickly fell behind Gwyn, Chai-Tak and Morg, who easily reached the top of the tower, with Vinara not far behind.

Gold Tower Top
A top the tower, Gwyn, Morg and Chai-Tak came face to face with a small contingent of Dray who were startled to see the adventurers hop over the edge of tower. The commander and the troops rushed forward to engage once the initial surprise wore off. One held back and began using arcane magic to attack.

A fierce but brief battle was had atop the tower. Most of the group took some injuries but the dray were defeated. With the top secured, the group propped up their defeated enemies and took a short rest, which was interrupted by another dray defiler who emerged through a trap door in the floor of the tower top. Vinara’s Heartwood Spear proved to be very capable of defeating defilers and with each death, the spear appeared to grow and strengthen.

The remainder of their rest was undisturbed, and Gwyn was able to better sense a strong aura of magic coming from the central tower of Slither. They also could not see any paths along the back of Slither leading into the tower. They couldn’t see anything on the roof of the tower, some 15 feet away, and decided to explore it rather than continue down into the gold tower. Chai-Tak and Morg made the leap with relative ease, carrying a rope across the gap.

Ritual Tower Top
The crenelated tower top was strewn with humanoid bones, some still fresh with gnawed meat. Among the older bones, thick spider webs could be seen. In the deck at the center of tower is an opening onto a set of spiral stairs. Four statues of elf raiders with crossbows stand at silent attention surrounding the stairs.

As Chai-Tak was beginning to tie off the rope, a gravelly voice spoke, “The master will not be pleased at this disturbance.” Appearing out of thin air, a tembo appeared and raked Morg with its claws. At the same time the four statues turned and let loose crossbow bolts at the mul and Thri-Kreen, with some of the bolts striking true. To make matters worse, large, fist-sized hairy spiders appeared out of every nook and cranny, making the roof treacherous.

The rest of the party hurried over quickly to help the pair against the vile creature. Only Merric had difficulty in making the crossing, nearly falling in the process. Gwyn’s fire magic was effective against the swarm of spiders, but it drew the attention of the tembo, who savagely bit into her, draining some of her life energy in the process. The tembo proved a challenging foe, but the groups experience fighting such creatures aided them and they were eventually able to defeat it, drive off the spiders and break the statues which continued to fire the crossbows at the party during the fight.

Fortune smiled on the group and they were able to tend to their wounds without interruption. From the floor below they could hear some scuffling sounds but see very little. Gwyn was certain that a source of the magic she detected was coming from below them in the tower, but she couldn’t be certain of its exact location or precise nature.

Test Subjects
Kelvor was the first to head down to the next level. The spiral staircase ended in a chamber, descending no further. He could see a dank, gloomy chamber layered in shadows, dimly illuminated by flickering candles. One section of the room appeared to be closed off behind bars. Opposite the barred cell was a room without a door. On the forward side of the tower a magic circle appeared to be inscribed on the floor, and opposite that a shaft leading down. The floor of the entire level was littered with corpses in various states of decay.

All appeared clear, and Kelvor yelled up for his companions to come down. Just then a pair of zombies rose from the floor and charged Kelvor, darkness engulfed his, blinding him as the zombies began to bite at him. Gwyn headed down the stair to a grisly sight, a dozen or so zombies had stood up and were beginning to move towards where Kelvor had disappeared into darkness.

Gwyn, followed closely by Morg and Chai-Tak, were able to cut down a number of zombies, but Kelvor fell to the hordes. From the shadows emerged another dray who conjured up a blast of burning salt. He charged at Morg, pushing him back towards the shaft. Although he was wounded, the dray was able to force Morg over the edge, who fell down the shaft. Gwyn used her magic and the dray was knocked into the shaft as well. He was able to hold onto the edge, but a quick shot by Chai-Tak’s bow sent his body into the depths.

Vinara’s magic was able to get Kelvor onto his feet, just as the last of the zombies was finished off. The party approached the shaft that Morg had fallen into…

The Laboratory
A few moments earlier…

Morg landed hard on the floor beneath the shaft. The room he was now in was covered in the remains of prisoners dropped from above and left for dead. Although most had decayed to bones and powdered carcasses, some relatively intact corpses remained. On either side of the shaft’s detritus stood two statues of elf raiders holding crossbows, similar to those encountered at the top of this tower. The central chamber held all manner of strange equipment scattered on tables and shelves, including several chairs with restraints; tow of them holding corpses that remain upright because of the chair’s numerous straps. In the center of the chamber, a circle of sigils on the floor casts a green radiance.

Morg got to his feet, careful to avoid several pressure plates that were likely linked to the elf statues. As he did so, a half-dozen zombies rose from the ground and moved towards him. Accustomed to fighting against mobs from his days in the arena of Gulg, Morg moved quickly cutting down the zombies quickly. So hungry were the zombies that they attempted one last desperate bite even as they were hacked apart.

Vinara was the first to descend into the chamber from above, quickly followed by the rest of her allies. No sooner had they all arrived then three figures appeared from thin air on the far side of the room. Two large, armored skeletons flanked a tall bearded Half-Elf… none other than Castri. Before anyone in the party could react the skeletons took up a defensive position and, with a hateful glint in his eye, Castri drew arrows and started firing on the party.

Vinara and Gwyn acted quickly to close the distance and attack the skeletons inflicting many wounds, but unable to take down them down. Vinara used her primal magic to bolster Gwyn’s health during the battle, as the previous fights had exhausted the Elf. Castri’s arrows struck true on Morg and the mul was taken down twice during the fight but not before he was able to separate Castri from his skeleton guards. Merric was able to move around the guards and struck a serious wound on Castri.

His advantage of range taken away, Castri was quickly overcome by the party and eventually knocked out by Vinara. The group decided that they couldn’t just kill Castri and they wanted to know more about what was going on. They removed his gear and weapons, including an odd looking short sword which they gave to Merric, and restrained him in one of the chairs.

A quick search of the room revealed many strange devices, several vats filled with foul chemicals and a number of books that appeared to be books on magic theory, specifically that related to necromancy. Gwyn burned the books to prevent their dangerous pages from ever being read again, while the others interrogated Castri.

Castri appeared to have been won over by the promises of power from Yarnath regarding the return of Ul-Athra. He relished the thought of the great worm’s return, the destruction of the dragon and the power over the city-states he would have. Although his friends didn’t want to believe that Castri had those beliefs, they could not deny what he had become. None could bring themselves to harm him further, and so the knocked him out and left him strapped to the chair.

The Vault
A treacherous spiral staircase led further down into the tower. The chamber they came to was bare of any decoration except a magical circle in the floor. Three sets of doors provided entry further into the tower; two single doors and a double door.

Morg and Kelvor moved quickly through the double doors, not wanting to delay any longer inside the tower. It appeared as if all the doors opened into a larger chamber. The room was painted with a single bizarre scene: the body of a massive snake depicted on the wall, completely surrounding the room. On the snakes head, which was more human than ophidian, rested a glowing crown. The snake’s tailed coiled inward along the floor from the wall and rose like a stinger in the center of the chamber. The stinger formed a stone pedestal topped with a crystal dome. Several stone chests were arrayed along the far wall.

As they moved into the chamber, out of the shadows three figures emerged. The smell of roasted meat was overpowering and the zombies gave off a dull red light as bits of ash and charred flesh. Morg and Kelvor moved to engage them quickly. Morg landed a massive blow with his axe, nearly decapitating the zombie, but the creature was imbued with such power that it continued to attack the group. Although they were not powerful, the party discovered that upon their death, they exploded into a dangerous cloud of hot acidic gas.

Severely burned by their encounter with the zombies, the party took a moment to rest and treat their wounds. Merric and Gwyn were able to deactivate a trap they detected and examined the contents of the chests. Inside they found several pieces of magical gear and a dozen gemstones. As they began to look around the tower for another exit, a flash of light alerted them to arrival of several creatures in the magical circle.

Yarnath the Skull
In the center of the circle, flanked by two more of the guardian skeletons, was a creature that appeared to be a mul in life. Upon his head was a golden crown set with a red gem His appearance left no doubt as to his nature as an undead creature or his name… Yarnath the Skull. With a wave of his hands several corpses emerged from the floor forming a line between him and the party.

Gwyn worked her magic to distract their foes and Morg and Vinara seized the initiative moving up and cutting down several of the zombies. To their horror, the creatures hands continued to move and try to grapple them despite the destruction of their body. The majority of the zombies were destroyed when Yarnath unleashed a powerful blast of necrotic energy, injuring most of the party and destroying Bear and Vinara’s spirit ally.

A vicious battle ensued with the party forced to work together like never before in order to survive the onslaught of Yarnath’s attacks. Gwyn narrowly avoided death several times aided by Vinara’s healing and her emerging draconic nature. Vinara revived her allies and was able to land a blow with her Heartwood Spear severely injuring Yarnath and weakening him. Kelvor kept the fight focused on him which allowed the others to move into good positions and wear Yarnath down. Merric’s new sword prevented Yarnath from healing for the majority of the fight while Chai-Tak’s bow, recovered from Castri, was able to consistently strike his foe.

They were finally able to defeat Yarnath, but the fight left Gwyn on the floor with mortal injuries. They were able to stabilize her and recover the crown. The mobile fortress lurched to a halt when Yarnath was slain and sounds of his raiders panicking and fleeing could be heard. Kelvor recovered the Crown and they left using the commotion as cover. They headed into the desert, pleased to be alive and in possession of the Crown.

After a long rest in a small oasis, the group headed out to the north, hoping to make it to Kled as quickly as possible.

Prologue
Elleandra and Paelias had been travelling together near the villages of Dempsy for some time searching for clues as to the nature of the recent changes that had been occurring in the Lands Within the Wind. In hopes of finding answers, they had visited a mage Bartleby who had sometimes instructed Elleandra in the arcane arts. Although Bartleby had no immediate answers, he asked for the pair’s help in locating an apprentice of his and promised to help research their concerns. The two agreed and went in search of Redra who Bartleby thought might be heading to an old graveyard near the towns…

Kelvor awoke to find himself in a strange and terrifying land. The familiar desert had been replace with tall trees and the hot wind that normally accompanied the morning was replaced with a cooling breeze of evening. He had heard of the forests and even witnessed some from afar. The shock of finding himself in one was an experience he was all together unprepared for. Unsure if the hyper-realistic land he appeared to be in was a dream or real, he pinched himself until it hurt. He decided that it was real, but how he was transported here remained a mystery.

Far off in the distance a flashing of blue light caught his attention. Having no other course of action he hugged his clothes tight for warmth, and journeyed down a small path towards the lights. Along the way he encountered two strangely dressed individuals – a unearthly beautiful woman and a short elf. Both were adorned with items of metal, the likes of which Kelvor had only heard of. The two found him equally strange with his carapace shield and armor and bone weapons.

His fears calmed by the beautiful woman and charismatic man, the three quickly realized that Kelvor had somehow traveled from Athas to the Lands Within the Wind. Although none of them could explain how he got there, they though that Bartleby might be able to help, once Redra was found. The three headed out…

Skitters in the Dark
The trio came to a bank of a gully with a wide river at its bottom. The sides of the gully were steep and thickly overgrown with thorny brush. They exact depth of the gully was difficult to tell in the darkness. A single log bridge provided the only obvious method to reach the other side, but it was far more treacherous than it originally appeared. Paelias was able to cross by using the Way and Elleandra was able to navigate the log with carefully placed footing. Kelvor, who had never encountered such a natural obstacle, fell, and only barely managed to prevent himself from being injured.

With the party split, a half-dozen of large spiders and several swarms of small spiders emerged from the brush below the bank with loud clicking and chittering. Paelias suffered the worst of the spiders attacks, as their bites carried a poison he appeared to be especially susceptible to. His mastery of the Way allowed him to remain fighting and bolstered his new allies. Elleandra used her magic to great effect to stun and push the spiders while also effectively dealing with the small swarms. Kelvor was able to maneuver across the log and join his new allies, making several deadly strikes against the largest of the spiders.

The Crazed Woman and the Dream Portal
After tending to their wounds, the group moved on and the forest opened up to reveal a small graveyard. Around three dozen grave markers of stone and wood dotted the clearing. The scene was lit by the ghostly blue glow Kelvor had seen earlier. The light came from a blue miasma of magical energy swirling above one of the wooden markers. A hazy alien landscape could be dimly seen within the pulsing glow. A young, human woman lay on the the ground near the swirling light, covered in blood. As the group approached, her head tilted toward them, her eyes open wide. Cackling loudly, she spoke with labored breath “Not…dead”.

Paelias moved to aid the woman and tend to her wounds. His healing skill was enough to slow the flow of blood, but it took his skill in the Way to allow the wounds to begin to close. Kelvor examined the scene in the portal, hopeful that it might be his homeland, but it was a nightmarish gray land. Elleandra could not close the portal with her arcane skill, but she did determine that something had recently entered these land through it but had moved on.

The trio began to try and calm the woman, Redra, who was clearly traumatized by her wounds and whatever events had befallen her. Although they were able to calm her suspicions she still babbled answers to their questions and it took some time to deduce what had happened in the graveyard.

Mother’s dead. I saw. Now it’s mine. All mine!

Sleep, die, sleep, die, sleep, die, sleep, die! Two thousand and five hundred nights! Don’t let me die again!

The nightmare is real! It was never only a dream!

The nightmare is here! Red eyes and red death! Red eyes and red blade!

Not alone, Death is not alone! It has friends. Not friends… fiends! They killed mother!

The group pieced together that some nightmare creature had been released by Redra and was now likely moving towards the towns. Hoping that Redra would be safe and nothing else would come through the portal, the group moved on towards the nearest group of homes, hoping they weren’t too late to stop the nightmare creature.

Redra’s Nightmare
They arrived at a small village consisting of small two-story wooden homes. Two fenced areas, one a garden, the other likely a corral, stood next to small, sparsely-decorated houses. What might have been an otherwise idyllic hometown was marred by blood-curdling screams of fear as several villagers fled the scene. Ahead, of the group a pair of humanoids bearing daggers and other weapons were moving through the town, apparently unaware of the trio’s arrival.

A great bellow came from the far side of one of the houses. A deep voice echoed “Flee, little ones, or be the next morsel on my table.” The trio rushed into the middle of the houses, hoping to draw the attention of the attackers. They were successful and Redra’s Nightmare charged into their midst, while the other two creatures moved forward cutting down a villager along the way.

Paelias used his skill in the Way to daze the Nightmare and Elleandra used her magic to immobilize the other creatures. Kelvor attempted to draw the attention of the Nightmare and have it focus on him. The creature kept attacking Kelvor and Paelias, who suffered the worst of his wrath. The group was able to defeat the Nightmare and its allies and prevent more death in the villages.

Epilogue
Paelias, Elleandra and Kelvor backtracked to find Redra still in the graveyard and still alive. They escorted her back to Bartleby and as she became less panicked, they learned more of what had transpired before. Redra’s mother had a nightmare every night for many years and eventually she had succumb to the nightmare and withered away from the fear and paranoia. One night Redra’s mother sprang from her bed and rand screaming into the night. When Redra found her she was being torn to pieces by large spiders, just as her dream her had prophesied.

That same night Redra had her mother’s dream, down to every exact detail. Hoping to avoid her mother’s fate, she sought out Bartleby and learned of magic over the next seven years. Redra discovered a ritual in Bartleby’s library and she decided to end her nightmare. She traveled to her mother’s grave and cast the ritual opening a portal to the dream world and call forth the nightmare and destroy it. Sadly she was not powerful enough and was overwhelmed.

Paelias and Elleandra were determined to investigate this and other strange occurrences in their land, fearful that it is a sign of something larger happening. Bridging the gap between Athas and the Lands Within the Winds was not difficult for Bartleby and after a strange, but good, meal, Kelvor was returned.

Journey to Kled
After recovering from their ordeal in Slither, the group headed away from the wreckage, careful to avoid any remnants of Yarnath’s forces. The terrain they took was very treacherous, but the group was accustomed to such difficulties and had little trouble. Gwyn and Kelvor were able to locate water but discovered too late that it was unfit for drinking. Morg’s endurance and Vinara’s skill at avoiding the natural predators allowed them to press on without further difficulty.

During the first night on their journey to resupply at the Silver Spring Oasis the party was awoken to sounds of a struggle and found Merric and Chai-Tak facing off against each other. If that wasn’t bad enough, Kelvor was missing with no signs indicating where he went. The rest of the group was paralyzed with indecision and did nothing until Merric lunged at Chai-Tak who fired his bow. The arrow went wild and Merric struck true with his sword. Gwyn and Morg stepped in to end the scuffle. Chai-Tak accused Merric of attempting to steal the Seed and Merric accused Chai-Tak of attempting to poison him.

The two were separated and Vinara took the Seed herself. The group waited several hours for Kelvor who suddenly appeared, unnoticed by the others. He claimed to have been transported to the Lands Within the Wind where he traveled through a forest, across a river and battle a nightmare creature with a beautiful woman and a noble elf. Dismissing his tale as a dream brought on by the tainted water, the group finally resumed their journey to the Oasis.

Another day of hot and dusty travel brought them out of the wastes and to the gates of the Silver Spring Oasis. It had only been a week since they left it felt like it had been much longer. At the gate the hailed the guards and asked for entrance. After a long pause the guard dismissed them, saying they were not welcome at the Oasis. After a few arguments two things became clear: they were not going to be allowed entrance into the compound and that their actions with their House Tsalaxa captive had come back to haunt them.

Ashamed and dangerously low on supplies, they continued on the road towards Tyr.

Fey Crossing
The first night away from the Oasis the party fell asleep, despite their intention to keep a watch. They all awoke with a sudden feeling that they were falling. The feeling lasted only a moment and then they found themselves standing on a narrow trail running through thick grass. The air was heavy with the scent of greenery and there were large trees looming over the group. Vines and heavy foliage was strung between them and the air was cool and damp. Everything seemed abnormally clear: Colors were brighter, sounds were sharper, and objects – for lack of any better way of thinking about it – were more real.

The consensus was that they were within the Land Within the Wind, but how they got there was unknown to any of them. Kelvor was relieved that he was not going mad; that it appeared far more likely that his dream had been real. Gwyn was overwhelmed with the raw magic of the place.

As they were still getting adjusted to their new surroundings, they noticed two figures walking down the road towards them. The group prepared for trouble, but Kelvor recognized them as the individuals he had previously met here – Paelias and Elleandra. When the two were close, Paelias greeted Kelvor and told him of the continued growing evil in these lands. He had hoped that the malignant power was isolated to the dream portal, but it now appeared to only be a symptom of a larger issue. He and Elleandra had tracked down a possible source of the corruption to an ancient site known as the Garden of Graves.

Paelias explained that he believed that if the corruption of this realm were not stopped it might have drastic consequences for Athas. The group, especially Morg, was less than enthusiastic about dealing with another set of problems. Somewhat taken aback, Paelias offered Morg a small purse filled with coins as a reward for his assistance. Morg, and the othera accepted. Paelias was needed elsewhere and did not accompany them, but the group was joined by Elleandra who knew the way to the Garden.

Woodland Woes
With Elleandra guiding them, the party made good time towards the Garden. After several hours the trail they were following came upon a clearing with a crystal clear pond of water. Around the pond was a small group of humans a couple men and a woman and two small children. With them was a large white beast with a single horn and some type of hairy tail – nothing the adventurers had every heard of before. Although suspicious, there was no immediate danger so the group approached the pond and was greeted warmly by the woman.

The woman told her tale of woe: her group were refugees from a nearby village that had been attacked by creatures she called goblins. Although the descriptions were strange to everyone be Elleandra, the scenario was all too familiar – a marauding band of raiders. As the conversation was made and the cool water was had by all, Merric began to become uneasy with the situation, sensing something wasn’t right. Gwyn detected some type of magic at work, but it was Elleandra (who was far more familiar with this world) who was able to break the illusion.

The two children shrank and turned into small furry creatures with antlers on their heads. The two men grew into monstrous green brutes with clubs and leathery skin. The animal remained much the same, but the pure white coloration turned to dark ebony and the horn turned a sinister red. The woman became wrinkled and purplish in color with with wild hair and tattered clothes. Without another word, the transformed creatures rushed to attack.

The unusual nature of the creatures proved to be quite a challenge to the group during the combat. When the creatures were thought to be killed, the reanimated and continued to attack for a brief period of time. This was likely another side effect of the corruption in the area. The brutes took a liking to Gwyn and knocked her out twice during the combat. They appeared to possess an ability to regenerate naturally and only Kelvor’s torch put them down for good. The small furred creatures proved exceptionally difficult to defeat and they had vicious teeth that tore into Kelvor’s neck. The horned creature’s mere presence aided its allies and it healed the woman when she was near death.

Although the group didn’t work together exceptionally well, they were able to defeat the strange creatures. Elleandra’s magic was able to distract and incapacitate many of the foes. Gwyn’s magic was a combination of misdirection with her Veiled Alliance training and powerful sorcery. Vinara was able to keep the party alive and she and bear focued on the woman and the horned animal. Kelvor moved all over the fight attempting to keep control. Morg engaged the woman and attempted to keep the small animals in check. In the end they all collapsed near the pond, in much need of a rest.

The Path of Broken Stones
After the long fight against the fey creatures, the party decided to take a few hours near the pond to recover their strength. Instead, the found that something was draining their energy while they tried to rest. Gwyn and the others recognized this as a tell-tale sign of defiling magic. Unwilling to wait longer, the group continued on through the thick woods and waving grasses, seemingly without a definite directions.

Finally the trees began to thin somewhat and they spotted an enormous ridge of dark stone looming ahead. The sounds of rushing water could be heard in the distance, but the dense trees prevented them from finding the source. From where they stood, a narrow tunnel could be seen piercing the dark-hued rock. Some writing was chiseled into the stone, a form of Elven that only Elleandra was able to translate.

Like lustful swain or panicked child
Who beg another’s gentle hand,
The fool delves heedless through the wild.
The wise are not so soon beguiled.

Let art and image point the way,
Abandon all you think you know,
For common sense leads fool astray
The key is simply this: Obey.

The wise must ever strategize;
They never play, unless to win.
They see the harm in comfort’s lies,
And seek to open weary eyes.

You’ve fought your way, you’ve risked demise,
To view the ivy heart within.
Now as the soul within you dies,
This knowledge is your only prize:
You’d never have come, were you truly wise.

Although they were unsure of the true meaning of the poem, they saw no other way to get to the Garden of Graves and so entered the tunnel.

The Cave of Entry
The adventurers found themselves in a simple cavern in the rock cliff that looked as though it hadn’t been used in some time. Not all of the stone was natural, however. A trio of statues stood along the far wall, forming a portion of the wall. Each statue depicted a humanoid female clad in rags and tatters with her right hand out, palm up, as though expecting to receive some gift. The figure on the left was a young female, her beauty apparent even given the poor condition of the stone. The center figure was older, her face kind and matronly. The figure on the right was stooped with age, her face a maze of lines and wrinkles.

Gwyn and Elleandra could sense powerful magic within the cavern, coming both from beyond the carved figures, and from the statues themselves. The magic coming from the statues was not the powerful defiling energy they had been feeling, that appeared to be coming from beyond the cave. The group was unsure on how they could get past the statues, knowing that it was some type of puzzle.

They decided and Elleandra placed a small number of gold coins in the palm of the middle statue. They disappeared but the crone statute moved to attack, placing her hand of Elleandra who began to wither and age. The group battled the animated crone statue, attempting to appease it with coins, but not being successful. Kelvor too suffered the touch of the crone statue, but was able to overcome its withering magic.

Once the statue was battered down, it reformed and continued to block their way. Eventually the group decided that the gift should go to the crone statue and when Kelvor placed a few gems into her open palm, they disappeared and the statues moved aside, allowing them access to the the exit from the cave.

Twisting Passages
As they emerged from the passage, they found themselves at a crossroad. A path lead to the left around the base of the cliff and it appeared that their other option was to make a climb up the 60 foot cliff face to reach the top. They could not see the top of the rocky cliff, but felt that the climb might be too dangerous, especially given the condition of Elleandra.

The path lead to a series of old tunnels that cut their way into the living rock of the cliff. These tunnels were obviously quite old, and appeared to be unused. They group explored the tunnels for a few hours, making note of many dead ends and finding no other exit than the entrance they used. Just as they were about to give up and attempt the treacherous ascent, Vinara noticed that one of the dead ends had as small amount of light coming from above and with Merric’s help a secret door was located which lead to a narrow staircase leading upwards.

Game Room
They emerged from a trap door into a room that appeared out of place. The chamber before them was luxurious, sporting a rich carpet, a gleaming chandelier in the cent of the ceiling, and five large tables each with a haphazard collection of dice, cards and gaming pieces. Every surface of the floors, walls and ceilings were covered in carved eldritch runes. There were two sets of massive double doors providing exits from the room.

As the room and tables were explored, each felt a compulsion to sit and play one of the games. Heeding the suggestion of the poem, none resisted this compulsion. Although none had ever played these games before, they knew the rules once they sat at the table and began to play against their unseen opponents. Merric and Chai-Tak had no game to play and each took up a position near one of the doors.

Vinara played a card game whereby the winner is determined by the ranks and combinations of their cards, some of which remain hidden until the end of the game. For her game, Gwyn moved around a game board buying or trading properties, developing them, and collecting rent from their opponents, the ultimate goal being to drive them into bankruptcy. Morg played a comparing card game against a dealer where a specific number was reached but not exceeded. Elleandra played a game on a board depicting a political map of a fictional land where the primary object of the game was to occupy every territory on the board and in so doing, eliminate all other players. In Kelvor’s game, he assumed the role of a settler, attempting to build and develop holdings while trading and acquiring resources.

Each person eventually won their games, however, each player suffered as mistakes were made, the game punishing them. However, as each game was overcome, one of the doors leading out of the room opened slightly. With the last game completed, the door opened all the way, revealing a passageway headed deeper into the building. The other door easily opened to the outside, where the graveyard could be seen.

Chamber of Tapestries
The group followed the interior hallway, which was also covered with the same strange runes. They found themselves in a chamber adorned with about a dozen tapestries. One had an image of fey dancing in a ring of toadstools as thunderclouds gather overhead and another showed a young man weeping over the corpse of a murdered maiden in a glade.

One tapestry against the western wall shows an almost life-sized double door, bounded in iron and silver and covered in arcane runes. A figure clad in black is being hurled back from the door by a bolt of lightning, with obvious lock picks flying from his fingers. His companion, who is dressed in chainmail, is leaning forward as though to stop him. The second figure is holding a key in his open hand. It’s the only tapestry that shows an indoor scene.

The room had no obvious exit, but behind one of the tapestries was a hidden door. The door opened easily enough and the group proceeded on. The power of the magic growing steadily stronger as they moved through the rune-etched hallway.

Wild at Heart
A much larger chamber opened before the group when they exited the hallway. A raised dais on one side had a large pile of stones resting atop it. It looked to be a cairn, but if so, it was the resting place of something truly enormous. Three smaller cairns lay clustered on the floor on the far side of the room. Like the other rooms in this structure, the walls and floors of the chamber were covered in runes. Vines and other plants could be seen growing throughout this room as many cracks and holes in the walls and ceiling allowed ample sunlight through.

Vinara and the others began to examine the contents of this room. It was clear that the cairn stones didn’t belong here, as they appeared to have once lain outside. On the opposite side of the room from where they entered, a large set of double doors, similar to the ones depicted in the tapestry, were closed. These enormous double doors were covered in runes and bound in iron and silver.

During their examination of the room, one of the stone coffins was opened, causing a great disturbance. From the raised dais, the large pile of cairn stones began to move and a leathery shell of a giant emerged from beneath them. The smaller piles also shifted, revealing three humanoid figures dressed in rags and decaying armor. From all around, the vines began to shift and twist on their own as a massive plant emerged from the rubble.

Surrounded and already weakened by their encounter with the crone and the combat was brutal. Both Gwyn and Vinara were knocked unconscious at the same time and only the quick actions of Elleandra allowed them to survive. Morg and Kelvor both suffered as the giant drained their vitality to feed its own. Merric was slain by a combination of the plants poisonous vines and the zombie knights attacks. Eventually the giant was over powered and the other opponents finished off.

The group took a brief rest and Vinara used her magic to bring Merric back from death, although the ritual sapped some of the last reserves from her companions…

The Double Doors
The enormous set of double doors stood in front of the group as they took a few minutes to recover from their battle. The combat and the subsequent spell from Vinara to bring Merric back from the Gray had exhausted the party and their rest only helped a little.

Gwyn and Elleandra were quite sure that the doors were magically reinforced, making any attempt to physically open them futile. They found nothing but rubble and the remains of their foes in room after a thorough search. Merric braved getting close to the doors to examine the lock, fearful of being shocked as they saw the man depicted in the tapestry. His fears came true as he was hit by a blast of lightning from the doors. Although in pain, he finished his examination of the lock before backing away from the door.

Remembering the poem the group attempted to not follow their “common sense” in different attempts to open the door. Gwyn thought to throw a rock at the door, but was so badly hurt that she wanted someone else to throw it. None of these solutions caused the doors to open and Kelvor was badly injured in the process. Seeing no other option, the group decided to head back to the game room and search the outside for any clues or for the key itself.

Pool Chamber
Outside the main structure, there were many ruined mausoleums and other structures. The group split up and began searching for anything that might help them bypass the doors. An hour of searching revealed no signs of a key or anything else of interest in the graveyard. Only one other building was found to be mostly intact with small amounts of water issuing forth. The group ventured inside, wary of trouble.

The walls within the chamber were covered in the same peculiar runes. A stone-rimmed pool was burbling at one end, with water overflowing. The overflowing water ran down the side and trickled in various rivulets across the floor. Instead of randomly flowing through the rough floor, the water made twisting, snaky patterns that appeared to have the same eldritch designs.

Vinara approached the pool, intending to take a drink (having quite enough of the riddles in this place), but she noticed a pale metal key laying at the base of the pool. It was slightly distorted by ripples in the water. Vinara was able to see past the surface distortions and grab the key. As she did the rippling in the water intensified and a strange watery serpent formed and lashed out at her. She deflected the attack with her spear. Morg rushed in slashing it with his axe and disrupting the serpent. A brief combat ensued with a constantly appearing water serpent. Each successful strike on the entity caused it to disappear. Only Morg was struck by the serpent and when he was, he disappeared from the room.

The party discovered that the water serpents range was limited and when Vinara left the building with the key, the serpent ceased its attack. About the time that the party returned to the main building, Morg rejoined them, drenched. He told the group that he had been transported to a fast moving river and was barely able to stop himself before plummeting over the edge to a 60 foot fall. The group re-entered the structure and quickly went to the double doors. Vinara walked up to the door and tried the key, only to find that it didn’t fit. She quickly backed away as the lightning from the doors blasted at the floor behind her feet.

Frustrated by another set back, the party was unsure of what to do. Elleandra suggested they try putting the key into the tapestry and so the group moved back to the tapestry. With the key in hand, it was obvious that the key depicted in the tapestry was the same one that was in their hand. They also realized that the lock on the door in the tapestry was too large. Although the door and the figures beside it were almost life-sized, the lock was fully life-sized. Vinara inserted the key into the lock on the tapestry and heard an echoing click as the key made contact with the fabric lock.

There was no visible change in the room or in the tapestry, the sound obviously coming from some place else. They returned to find the double doors opened, revealing another hallway. They lit their torches and proceeded down a twisting passageway.

The Fey Engine
The chamber ahead of the group was clearly the heart of some sort of eldritch design. Runes such as those that had been seen elsewhere in the complex spiral along the walls and floor in various intertwining patterns, all finally culminating in the precise center of the room. An intricate contraption of iron rods and wooden shafts, crossing and crisscrossing each other stood at that point. At each intersection, a rune could be seen on wood and metal, and several of the larger joints were adorned with gemstones. At its top, the device came to a pyramidal peak, with prongs holding a gleaming emerald.

Although Gwyn and Vinara had no doubt that the device was the source of the draining energy they had all been feeling and experiencing, neither had any idea how the device functioned. It was magic far beyond their abilities. One thing was certain, the device, although powerful, was likely to be quite fragile. Kelvor stepped forward and swung a mighty blow with his scimitar.

A sudden flash of energy erupted from the emerald, nearly blinding the party with the intensity. The engine began to shatter and collapse in upon itself as the iron bars began to rust and gemstones turned to dust as they fell to the group. From an unimaginable distance, they heard what sounded like a shriek of frustrated rage, cut off in mid breath.

Admist the wreckage of the engine, Vinara located several precious gemstones that survived the destruction. In addition, one piece of the engine that was apparently obscured by the wood and iron survived. The piece appeared to be a staff made of twisted strands of smoky black glass, but it was obviously harder than the iron supports. Vinara gave the staff to Gwyn who felt strengthened by the shadowy energy the staff infused her with.

Morg took all of the iron bars that appeared to be mostly intact from the wreckage and the group headed back out of the complex. As they did so, they noted that the structure appeared to be decaying rapidly – the remaining tapestries were fading, the game room was in disarray with the boards and pieces broken and lying on the ground.

A Well-Deserved Rest
The group made camp near the pool and enjoyed an uneventful evening with Morg and Kelvor on watch. The following morning they met Paelias along the trail and exchanged news of their adventures. Paelias confirmed that the destruction of the engine had halted the destruction of the land and appeared to be returning the creatures to their normal temperaments. He invited all of the group to join him in the nearby village of Dempsy before returning them to Athas.

At the village they restocked their supplies of food and water and were able to take some time to pursue some individual activities. Although not all had much that was acceptable currency in Dempsy, they were able to secure enough provisions to make the passage to Kled. Kelvor asked Paelias if he had any advice or knowledge regarding the crown. Unfortunately, the only assistance that Paelias could provide was generalities about the difficulty in destroying powerful magic artifacts. Morg and Merric spent some actual gold coins on buying a metal weapons.

Gwyn and Vinara tended to the recovery of Elleandra, who was still under the effects of the Crone Statue. Paelias provided Gwyn with instruction on a power ritual that could remove her affliction. With Vinara’s assistance, Gwyn was able to complete the ritual and restored Elleandra to her original health, although it took her a bit of time to recover fully from the ordeal. Gwyn’s companions had not realized how powerful she was becoming in her magic studies and were impressed.

The Village of Kled
Eventually the group decided that it was time for them leave the Lands Within the Wind and to return to Athas so they could continue their quest to free the dwarves of Kled. Elleandra decided to join them, feeling that the connection she felt to Vinara, the spear and the seed was no mere coincidence. Paelias, with the assistance of Gwyn and Elleandra was able to send them back to Athas much closer to Kled then they had origianlly thought.

They found themselves on a large hill overlooking the village of Kled. None had been to it before and were shocked to see that the squat buildings had no roofs and that the entire town was arranged in a series of concentric circles. Clearly visible, even from the hill, were the banners of Urik – a golden lion walking like a man on a red background. Also visible were green banners with a red emblem of a two-headed snake. Kelvor recognized those as the crest of House Lubar.

An Occupied Village
After leaving the Lands Within the Wind, the group found themselves standing beneath an arch of golden sandstone, taking what shelter they could find from the white-hot sky. Below them was the dwarf village of Kled. The blazing heat was comforting to all in the group except for Elleandra, who was unaccustomed to such conditions.

The central plaza of the village, with a jagged edge of curving salients that resembled tongues of flame, could be seen from their vantage point. The circle was paved with cobblestones of crimson sandstone and a small windmill with slowing spinning sails could be seen in the middle of a round plaza. With each rotation, the mill pumped a few gallons of cool, clear water from a deep well and dumped it into a covered cistern.

The residences of the village were arranged in a series of concentric circles enclosed by a single low wall of red brick. The huts themselves were made of rounded red flagstone walls. The buildings stood only about five feet high, and none were covered by any semblance of a roof. Their interiors were visible and stone tables, benches, beds and other furnishings could be seen.

Looking out of place were several huts constructed of wooden and cloth just outside the city. The banners of Urik and House Lubar could be seen fluttering in the afternoon breeze. A large number of soldiers, all wearing the red tunics of Urik were marching in and around the village. Kelvor estimated the there were about 200 soldiers occupying the village of about 400 dwarves.

The group quickly realized that there was virtually no chance of a successful assault on the village and so they decided to ambush a patrol and sneak into the city to attempt to contact, or start, a resistance to the occupation. After moving to a better location to ambush a patrol, they waited patiently under the hot sun until their prey appeared. Although they were hidden well, the patrol was alert and ready for trouble. A brief combat ensued between them and the forces of Urik, lead by a templar and his half-giant guards.

Gwyn dressed herself in the templar’s robes and Morg and Kelvor made makeshift outfits from the half-giant’s tunics. The rest of the group donned the garb of the soldiers and they all headed into the village. Because of Chai-Tak’s size and appearance it was decided that he remain behind. Kelvor was able to lead the party past several Urikite patrols. Morg used his gift with the Way to eavesdrop, attempting to find the dwarves they had freed from the Urikite templar on the way to the Cistern. Eventually they heard that Niva and Marok were being forced to work in the obsidian mines.

The Obsidian Mines
Still disguised as a templar and guards, the group made their way from the city into the foothills of the mountains towards the obsidian mine. They were briefly stopped along the way at a guard station, but Gwyn was able to bluff her way past the guards with very little difficulty. Once the mines were reached, more guards were convinced to fetch Niva and Marok for “interrogation” by the templar.

Taken out of sight, the two dwarves were relieved to see Morg and his companions and told of the occupation of Kled by a powerful psionicist named Maetan Lubar. Although the dwarves did not like the occupation, they were unwilling to cause trouble for the forces of Urik or do anything that would endanger their village. During this exchange an mine Overseer challenged Gwyn for taking away his workers during their shift. She put on her best act and succeeded in turning him away with an arrogant flip of her hair. Confused by this stubborness and illogical attitude the group started to make their own plans for attacking the forces of Urik. The dwarves were adamant that nothing endanger the safety of the village.

Just as the the group was about to leave the mines and head back towards the village to start trouble, the Overseer returned with a number of guards, prepared for combat. It appeared that Gwyn was not as convincing as she thought. Although the skilled forces of Urik fought well, they were little match for the seasoned veterans of the desert and the combat was over quickly. Niva and Marok were in awe of the the groups skill, especially that of Morg who they claimed fought like a warrior of legend.

The dwarves escorted the party out of the mine area and south of the village. Just as the sun was setting, they arrived at a hill of sand partially covering a section of ruins. What they saw at the hill was barely comprehensible – two dwarves wearing full plate armor made of steel and holding steel great axes were standing guard over two enormous bronze doors. With a few words the guards allowed the party to pass through the doors and into a cool tunnel.

The Ruins of Kemalok
The tunnel they moved down was lined with wide strips of animal hide, gray and cracked with age. The lining was supported with wooden beams to keep the sand from cascading in an burying the excavation. The corridor was so low that everyone had to practically crawl through it. Eventually the tunnel opened into a small chamber, where a makeshift camp had been set up.

A venerable dwarf emerged from a tent and greeted Niva and Marok, he was introduced as Lyanius, the village Urhonomus. The previous exploits of Morg and his companions were retold as well as a description of the fight with the mine overseer. Nodding throughout the telling Lyanius welcomed the group to the ancient dwarven city of Kemalok…

“I found Kemalok 200 years ago when I happened upon a short section of parapet the wind had uncovered. I knew instantly that I had uncovered a dwarven city form the time of the ancients. The merlons were too short for your people, and the stonecraft was far beyond anything the paltry mason or our age can achieve."

“I spent the next century and a half excavating the ruins, first working alone and eventually coming to be a leader of an entire village focused upon eventual reestablishment of Kemalok.”

“Since the arrival of the Urikites, our work on Kemalok has nearly halted, robbing us of our focus. We cannot let them discover its location and plunder its treasures. The spirits of our ancestors have become restless with the presence of the Urikites, futher hindering our ability to make progress.”

“I believe that you may have the ability to calm these restless spirits and if you can, you will prove that you are truely heroes and we will fight the Urikites along side of you.”

Morg was especially unnerved by his comments, but the group agreed to follow the old dwarf. The tunnel opens up into a small chamber. The path they took lead to a small stone walkway that looked as though it had once been a bridge. Beside the causeway lay more than a dozen weapons of various materials. Several of them looked to be quite ancient, judging by the rot of their wooden handles or the yellowed brittleness of their bone blades. Lyanius commented often as they made their way through the excavation.

“The remains of those who entered here uninvited.”

On the other end of the bridge, there was an arched gateway in a magnificent stone wall. Inscribed into the stone were several strange runes which none could read. A few feet above the gateway hung a portcullis of rusty-red iron. It was supported by thick iron chains that disappeared through a set of openings into the gatehouses that flanked the pathway. The walls of these buildings were constructed of white marble, so finely cut and carefully fit together that even a sliver of torchlight could not have slipped between them. The group was impressed with the craftsmanship from another age.

“Beyond this gate, place your trust in the strength of your friendship, not the temper of your blade. You may go no further unless you leave your blades behind.”

The group deposited their daggers, axes and sword outside the gatehouse, except for Merric who refused to go unarmed. As the group moved through the archway, a chest-high figure steped from around the gatehouse corner. It wore a complete suit of black metal plate mail, trimmed at every joint in silver and gold. In its hand the figure held a battle-axe of polished steel with scintillating lights and its helm was capped by a jewel-studded crown of galeaming white metal. The only thing visible of a face was swaddled in green bandages, and the eyes burned with a glow as yellow as the afternoon sky.

“This is Rkard, the last of the dwarven kings. Show him you bear no weapons and he will let you pass.”

On the other side of the gatehouse, a confusing warren of tunnels branched off in a dozen directions, leading down what had once been the grand avenues and hidden alleys of a sizable metropolis. The greatest part of Kemalok still ay buried under mounds of sand, but enough of it showed to see that most of the buildings were constructed of granite block. The five-foot doors and narrow, chest-high windows left no doubt that this had indeed been a dwarven city.

Eventually they came to another bridge leading to a gate. This bridge was made of wooden planks, half-rotten and patched here and there with the wide, flat ribs of a mekillot. An immense set of iron doors blocked further passage once the bridge had been crossed. Lyanius pushed open easily, as much a testament to his strength as the engineering. A short tunnel lined with chest-high arrow loops leads to a series of vaults, revealing the outer bailey of a once great castle.

Passing through this area, the party was able to peer into what had been the shops and homes of the castle’s smiths, tanners, fletchers, armorers and dozens of other craftsmen. Their tools, made mostly from steel and iron, still hung in the racks where they had been neatly stored thousands of years ago. The amount of metal the party saw was staggering and beyond anything they had ever seen, or dreamed.

Moving through another gate and into the inner bailey, they arrived at a courtyard before a square keep of white marble. The keep rose high overhead and the roof was lost in the sand overhead. At each corner of the keep stood a round tower, its arrow loops commanding much of the courtyard below.

“The Tower of Buryen, home to the dwarven kings for 3000 years.”

On each side of the entrance foyer sat a pair of stone benches, one sized for the short legs of the dwarves and one for the longer legs of humans. In the corners stood full suits of dwarven plate mail, the shaft of a double-bladed battle-axe gripped in the armor’s gauntlets. Both the armor and the weapons were made of polished steel, gleaming as brilliantly as the day they had been forged.

Vinara noticed that there was no sign of life in the suits of armor and that they were much too small for a dwarf. Although they were about the right height, they were far from broad enough for the massive shoulders and bulging limbs typical of the dwarven race.

“Our ancestors were not as robust as we are today. They even had some hair.”

The next area they moved through was a huge hallway running the perimeter of the keep. The floor was arranged in a pattern of polished black and white squares. At even spaces along the walls, tall white columns supported the vaulted ceiling above. Between each set of arches was a mural painted directly onto the wall.

The first painting before them portrayed a dwarf dressed in a full suit of golden plate armor, a huge warclub cradled in his arms. From beneath his golden crown cascaded a huge mop of unruly hair that hung well past his shoulders. That was not the “worst” of it, either. His face was lost beneath a thick beard that started just below his eyes and tumbled in a tangled mass clear down to his belly. The party was shocked as such a depiction of a dwarf.

“Come along! I didn’t bring you hear to mock my ancestors.”

The other murals in the hallway portrayed grossly bearded dwarves as well. The paintings usually depicted dwarves standing in the somber halls of dimly lit keeps or in the dark chambers of some vast cave. The last mural in line depicted the guardian of the city, King Rkard. Like the figure that met them at the city gate, the dwarf in the painting had golden-yellow eyes and wore black plate mail trimmed in silver and gold. His helm was crowned by a jewel-studded crown of strange white metal. In his hands, the picture king even held a battle-axe identical to the one carried by the gate-guardian. Behind Rkard, the ground sloped down a gentle hill blanketed by the green stalks and red blossoms of some broad-leafed plant. At the bottom of the slope, a wide ribbon of blue water meandered through a series of lush meadows. In the fields grew food crops of every imaginable color and shape. In the far background of the painting, the river finally disappeared into a forest of billowing trees ranging in color from amber to russet to maroon. Behind this timberland rose a mountain range, its peaks and high slopes strangely covered with white.

“Dwarven artists painted only what they saw.”

Finally the group reached a pair of massive wooden doors so infested with dry rot that it was surprising they still hung on their hinges. Despite the deterioration of the doors, the strange animals carved into each one remained handsome and distinct. The snarling beasts resembled bears, save that, instead of the articulated shells armoring the creatures, these were covered with nothing more protective than a thick mat of long fur.

“Beyond these doors lie the crypts of Kemalok. Here the spirits of our ancestors are unquiet. Go forth and put their souls at ease. If you convince them, then you shall have earned our help against the forces of Urik, and proven that you are heroes.”

The Crypts of Kemalok
Tasked with quieting the restless spirits of the ancient dwarves of Kemalok, the group cautiously entered the crypts. If successful they would convince the dwarves of their good intentions and would gain their support in overthrowing the forces of Urik. If they failed, they would likely become the dead themselves.

They found the crypt to be a large central chamber with four side chambers that were partially collapsed from the passage of time. The central chamber had a number of small graves along the walls and one large monument to the dwarves of ages past. All was covered in a thick layer of dust, sand and dirt, with much rubble strewn about.

As the group explored the ruins it became obvious that the monument had become damaged at some point in the past. Speculating that restoring the monument would help quiet the spirits of the dwarves the group began searching for the pieces that would restore it. Morg was able to shift rocks and debris from a large pile in one of the rooms and unearthed what appeared to be a religious icon. As he took it, the ground shifted and an undead dwarf emerged and began to move towards him. Kelvor intercepted and kept the creature occupied as best he could with only his shield.

Morg was unable to determine how to fit the icon onto the monument, although Elleandra had little difficulties working it out. As the party worked to uncover additional pieces, more undead dwarves began to appear and it became apparent that those best suited to restoring the monument were also the best suited to fighting the increasing number of undead. Gwyn with her magic and VInara with her Heartwood Spear were the the most capable fighters, but the undead were ferocious and quickly began to wear down their strength.

Although Elleandra was badly wounded, she was able to slip past one of the undead to search for the final piece to the monument. Kelvor fell to the constant attacks of the undead, although Vinara was able to revive him with her healing magic. Eventually finding it, Elleandra raced back to finish the repairs on the monument with the last of strength. As she did so, the undead halted their attacks, gave a nod of acknowledgement and departed the tomb.

Alone on A Hill
Chai-Tak had been alone in the hills overlooking the village of Kled for many hours. He had at first enjoyed the wonderful meal that was the remains of his former opponents, a patrol of the forces of Urik, but soon the boredom set in and he missed his new clutch. He began to wander in the hills, careful to stay out of sight on the off chance that another patrol was nearby.

Without warning Chai-Tak nearly ran into a halfling wearing the red tunic of the army of Urik. Equally surprised to see a lone thri-kreen, both stood starring at each other for a moment. Suddenly the halfling launched a javelin at Chai-Tak, but it flew wide. Chai-Tak drew back on his greatbow and loosed an arrow, striking the halfling squarely in the shoulder. A fierce combat ensued with the halfling charging into melee and Chai-Tak attempting to keep some distance and use his bow.

Chai-Tak was able to land a number of hits on the halfling without suffering too many injuries himself. The toughness of the halfling was such that he appeared to ignore most of the wounds. Eventually the scout landed a series of blows with wicked daggers and another javelin, which was tipped with a poison. Chai-Tak was quickly worn down and eventually collapsed, his last sight was the halfling looming over him with a hungry look in his eyes.

To Save the Village
When they returned from the catacombs, the party was met with a mixture of awe and respect. They had clearly demonstrated that they had the best interests of Kemalok as their concern. Lyanius agreed to lend their support in the hero’s attempt to overthrow the forces of Urik occupying the village of Kled. After their combat in the quarry, the forces of Urik were alerted to the heroes activities. They were now fortifying their position in the village.

Before they left, the corpse of Rkard, the last king of Kemalok presented Morg with his axe, a magnificent steel weapon. Morg felt the weight of the responsiblity of the gift more than the weight of the weapon itsefl. Rkard gave to Gwyn a tome written in an ancient dwarven language that none alive could translate. Her magic would allow her to decipher the ancient text, given enough time.

Morg and Vinara were each given their own group of dwarf soldiers for support and went out into the village, moving into the city towards the central well. After securing the well from a group of templars who appeared to be attempting to poison the water supply, a crashing sound from the north, the direction of the obsidian quarry, shook the village. They moved into the mine and prevented the Urikites from collapsing the entrance. Along the way they were able to recruit more dwarves, but also lost many in their fierce combat.

Kelvor, Elleandra and Gwyn took their dwarves and moved around the south edge of the city towards the detention area. They were forced to move slowly as they encountered heavy resistance from the Urikites and their halfling scouts. After picking up additional dwarves who were willing to fight, they stormed the detention area to find a great many of the dwarves had been slaughtered by their captors. In one cell they found the body of Chai-Tak, who had apparently been taken captive and executed.

The two groups eventually joined up outside the commanders tent and proceeded in. Having secured the important village locations and cut off all escape routes, they felt confident that the command would have not option but to surrender or fight.

Final Confrontation
The dwarf soldiers were left to prevent Urikite reinforcements from entering the battle. The heroes found the Urikite commander surrounded by a number of robed allies and a small group of halflings armed with viscous looking weapons. Introducing himself as Maetan Lubar, he offered a chance to surrender and be spared, which was declined. A deadly combat ensued with many dwarves sacrificing themselves too keep the Urikite troops away from the combat.

Maetan and his robed allies proved to be powerful masters of the Way, causing a great deal of harm to the heroes. His mental powers manifested in their minds taking form of numerous serpents all striking with deadly precision. The halflings used poisoned weapons whose slightest nick caused debilitating pain. The mindbenders used their powers to blind and confuse their enemies.

During the fight both Merric and Kelvor suffered nearly-fatal injuries but managed to not succumb to death. As powerful as he was, and with the assistance of an enchanted obsidian orb, Maetan eventually fell to the group’s attacks. WIth their leader defeated, the remaining Urik army scattered to the deserts. Although tempted to pursue, neither the dwarves nor their leaders were in any shape to make a pursuit across the desert.