Gaia's Dream: The Heroes of Falgenor

"The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names." – Chinese proverb 

Midnight, Nerida 2, 22CR – Campaign Start, Riverwall District, Falgenburg:

The party is assembled from individuals caught in a Darkening zone, as undead and worse seemingly “gate” in from some unknown location.  The group works together in the district to track a Night Eye thief, Krolten the Claw, into the local warehouse yard.  Along the way, they defeat some zombies, ghouls and a rampaging beast that no one was able to identify.  Balale helps to evacuate Jhalo’s Fish Bar, and earns the respect of its proprietor, Mr. Jhalo (a fellow Malo).

At the warehouse yard, the party discovers a cache of treasure and artifacts stored in the Sevrigo Warehouse.  Upon entering the warehouse to investigate, they find themselves in the midst of a battle between Krolten, four unidentified long-limbed humanoids, and an apparently sentient undead being called Volgaren.  After a difficult battle, in which Hali is struck down by the villain, the party defeats Volgaren, but the unknown humanoids escape.  It seemed they were trying to set off a teleport beacon, to transport some or all of the artifacts away, but that too was foiled by the party.

Some time in the morning of 3/6/22CR, the Darkening ends and the Riverwall district is purged of the remaining undead by the city guard. 

6-3-22 – 6-11-22CR: In the aftermath of the Darkening after having Hali resurrected at the temple of Elaera, the party investigates the probable staging area where Volgaren based his attack from.  An inert magical gate is found in the staging area, so they theorize that Volgaren’s gatestone (found on him when killed) was used to gate undead in from wherever this gate led.

The party keeps the artifacts they found in the Sevrigo Warehouse, and are marginally involved in an investigation to find the “lost” items.  Eventually, they anonymously return the artifacts to their rightful owner, the mage Biotras, by “donating” them to the local ElaeranTemple. 

The group trains at the Falgenburg Hall of Knowledge for one week.  Afterward, they engage in duels at the Hall of Knowledge Battle Arena.  Though several of the party members are undefeated in three battles, it is Chyann who impresses the crowd the most.

Battle Arena Records, Round 1

Chyann             3-0         Hali                3-0

Kaso                3-0       Balale               2-1

Thentis             3-0       Severician         2-1

Delsin               3-0

6-12-22 – 6-13-22CR: The party meets with Biotras again; he now has details of the mission he hinted at in the last meeting (before the party’s stay at the Hall).  He hires the party to investigate a ruin called the Old Tombs, outside the town of Jordheim.  They are looking for proof of a manufacturing facility for these new “fey zombies” that spit a variety of dangerous substances.  Proof can be found in the form of Crimson Mold spore, which is clearly the alchemical base of the Fey Goop.

After meeting with Biotras (and a chance encounter with his beautiful and shy 22-year old daughter Katje, who seems interested in Kaso’s tribal sport of Bandy – “Hey baby, you ever seen a bandy match?”), the party spends one additional day preparing for their journey, purchasing gear, horses, and a horse-drawn cart. 

6-14-22 – 6-17-22CR: The party travels west out of Falgenburg to Jordheim.  They travel for four days, and arrive on the evening of the 17^th June.  On the road to Jordheim, the party is assaulted by a band of highly organized marauders.  Only Severician’s instincts and sharp eyes save them from a dangerous ambush.

They meet with the Matron of the town, Lady Jordonhimmen, who is a retired monster hunter and adventurer.  She tells them of the Dark Goblin raids and trouble from the Old Tombs, and also of Volgaren’s passing through the Jordheim area (he/it was apparently working with the Dark Goblins for a time).  

6-18-22 – 6-24-22CR: The party trains with Master Jenzan at the Jordheim Hall of Knowledge.  There is no Battle Arena in the Jordheim Hall.  They spend their nights at the Leaping Stag Inn & Tavern, a fine establishment.  During the week of training, Delsin constructs a rudimentary water blaster to douse undead with holy water at short range. 

6-25-22 – 6-27-22CR:  Having completed their training, the party leaves Jordheim and heads into the foothills towards the Old Tombs, to protect the town and in search of Crimson Mold spore.  They enter the Tombs ruins, which are clearly Dark Goblin-infested.  Inside the tombs, the party encounters a significant number of Dark Goblins.  They burn one common living room of goblins, and count at least 25 corpses in the aftermath.  In addition to these, the party defeats 40+ goblins as they work their way through the complex.  The goblins have converted the Old Tombs into a working outpost, with alchemical production facilities, a working waterwheel, and other amenities.  On the first level, there is no sign of any Crimson Mold.

On the second level of the complex, the party defeats a vicious goblin spear-maiden and her cadre of guards, the battle occurring at the feet of a great stone statue carved in the likeness of the Dark Goblin demon god, Maglubiyet.  Using items found in the statue, they unlock a series of guardian statues to open the way to the lower levels.

Also on the second level is a sealed tomb, which the goblins do not go near.  The party investigates, and the tomb is found to be of an ancestral Dragomir (Aethis Dragomir), one of Thentis’ family.  Thentis does not know of anyone called Aethis on his genealogy tree.  He does open Aethis’ tomb, and gains a fine magical scimitar for his trouble.  From the carvings on the tomb, it seems that Aethis died at the Battle of Hobs Lake during the Second Ascension War.

After unlocking the wards, the group proceeds forward into the production facilities of the complex.  Here they encounter the Dark Goblin Necromancer Gal’aek, who along with his golems and undead gives the party a ferocious battle, stretching their abilities to the limit.  However, Gal’aek is defeated and his secrets are made known; not only does the party find the Crimson Mold they need, but two letters are found (signed “Miarch”) that hint at a greater conspiracy, including the possible kidnap of Biotras’ daughter Katje.

The party is in the tombs for three days exterminating the goblins; their leader Gal’aek is defeated on the early evening of the third day.

6-28-22 – 7-2-22CR:  The party returns successfully to Jordheim, where they are greeted as heroes and rewarded handsomely by Lady Jordonhimmen.  After a brief stay at the Leaping Stag, they begin the journey back to Falgenburg, with the intent of telling Biotras of the imminent attempt to kidnap Katje.  The journey back to Falgenburg takes four full days due to bad rains, but they are not harassed on the road.

Upon returning and rushing immediately to Biotras’ estate, the party finds that he is gone on business, Katje has already been kidnapped, and that Biotras has left his public affairs in the hands of his best friend Lord Ichthien, an eldritch knight.  Ichthien also has a gift for the party: a valuable crystal ball which belongs to Biotras, and which the wizard requested he turn over to the party as thanks for their hard work on his behalf.  The party gives their information to Ichthien and departs for training at the Falgenburg Hall of Knowledge.  Balale and Thentis are eager to attempt some scrying with their new crystal ball – it should prove to be a useful tool for eavesdropping on their enemies in the future.

The Heroes of Falgenor