The Lost Mines of Karak

After taking a few weeks to rest, re-equip and research new magics. The band was approached by Kalad, who was now a high ranking member of Overlook's city watch.

"My friends, I may have a commission for you. Bram Ironfell, is a wealthy and influential member of the Elsir Consortium, a powerful merchant group in these parts. He has asked me make an introduction with you. Are you available to meet with him at Pollivers this evening?".

After several weeks of civilian living and the prospect of a profitable venture, the group agreed that the least they could do was hear out Bram Ironfell's offer. It was common knowledge that Pollivers was a renowned and exclusive eatery catering for the higher echelons of Overlook society, at the very least it would be an opportunity to sample how the other half lived.

When the Company of the Free arrived at Pollivers they were ushered into a private banqueting suite which Bram Ironfell had reserved for the meeting. Strewn on the table was a fabulous selection of the finest food from every corner of the realms. Not to mention half a dozen bottles of expensive wine. On their entry, Bram stood and beckoned the party to sit.

“Greetings, Heroes of Overlook. I am Bram Ironfell of the
Clan Ironfell and representative of the Elsir Consortium.
Your reputations precede you, and for your actions, you
have my personal thanks in addition to that of the city. I
have a tale I wish to share with you, over dinner and drinks
of course.”

After several minutes of polite conversation the dwarf steered the talk toward the business in hand. "What do you know of the Karak Lode?" he asked. Ben had heard tales of the place and knew something of its history and he began to recount the tale

"Several centuries ago, the Ironfell clan—made forays in search of mineral wealth in the deserts beyond the Stonelands to the northwest of the Vale. There, they established a mine they called the Karak Lode, after the first dwarf of Clan Ironfell to fall in its defence. Over long years, Karak became a legendary source of wealth as its folk pulled rich deposits of gold, silver, and other precious metals from beneath the desert sands. A supply depot was established at the desert’s
edge to service the caravans traveling between the mine and Elsir Vale, but the location of the Karak Lode was kept a closely guarded secret. Only oathsworn members of Clan Ironfell ever made the final leg of the journey across the sands. This secrecy was to become the dwarves downfall at contact was lost with the mines, and none of the dwarves returned to tell the tell. Over time the Karak Lode dissappeared from history".

Bram complimented Ben's knowledge of dwarven history and continued. “The location of the Karak Lode was known to few even within the clan, and it was thought that all who had such
knowledge were lost when the mines were reclaimed by the desert. Even within the clan, Karak is all but forgotten. However, recent events might change that. “The destruction of Sarshan’s operations in Overlook saw the shadar-kai’s many warehouses and transit points raided. In one of those raids, the watch uncovered documents connected to Sarshan’s operations, including an ancient fragment of parchment. On it was written a list of landmarks and bearings for a journey, along with the name of Clan Ironfell. I had never seen this parchment before. However, at the watch’s request, I undertook a bit of research into my family’s archives. If what I discovered there holds true, this parchment holds the directions to the Karak Lode.”

“Discovering what became of my kin would end a sad chapter in Ironfell history, but that is not my primary motive in seeking your aid. If the Karak Lode can be found, its wealth offers the means to shore up the defenses of Overlook and the Elsir Vale. However, it is anyone’s guess
what manner of creatures might lair there, or what defenses the last of the clan left to guard the mines. This is not a job for the city watch, I fear.”

"Indeed, such a dangerous mission, would require serious remuneration" interjected Nalklyr.

Bram responded by throwing a heavy pouch on to the table. I'm prepared to offer 1000 gold for successful completion of this task, half of it is in that pouch. The other half I will give to you on your return with proof the task is complete. Do we have an agreement, gentlemen?"

The party readily agreed to the dwarves terms and Bram handed over the parchment with the directions. After finishing the exquisite meal they bade Bram goodnight and returned to their lodgings at Belden's Rest, for in the morning they would embark on the perilous journey to the Lost Mines of Karak.

Escape from Umbraforge

The party entered a circular chamber. Although unoccupied the room was littered with research equipment, workbenches and various books concerning the magical transformation of mundane creatures in to beasts of war. Pausing only long enough to gather a selection of ritual components, the group headed for the circular stairs running up the wall of the room.

They emerged in another similar room however a passageway lead of to a exotic indoor garden. Dim light from globes of gray glass cast faint shadows throughout the dark garden. Though the trees and other foliage appeared healthy and luxurious, the leaves, stems, and flowers of these plants are sickly shades of dark blue, gray, and black. Along the south wall of this chamber stood another stone arch identical to the teleportation portals the group had seen earlier.

Before the band had an opportunity to explore the area a hissing sound became audible prefacing a cloud of insects suddenly boiling up from the shadows, swarming to attack. At the same time, what had appeared to be a mass of mottled leaves rose
up to reveal itself as an enormous beetle, which had viscous black fluid dripping from its joints.

Immediately Ben reached in to his bag for a cinderbomb and flung it at one of the swarms which had materialised at the far side of the garden. Unfortunately, the fact that the shadow creatures were concealed in the thickets made them difficult to hit. Garig headed straight for the enormous shadow beetle and tore in to it with his axe. Melech and Nalkyr also launched attacks at the swarms but only killed a handful of the scores of creatures which composed the swarm. Within seconds the swarms of shadow spawned insects has converged on the group the tiny but vicious insects crawling through gaps in armour and gnawing the skin beneath. The beetle then spewed forth stick stands of shadow catching Grogar and rooting the paladin where he stood. Ben tried to Thunderwave the deadly swarm away but being in such close proximity found it difficult to to get his aim right. Finally, Garig and Melech managed to take down the beetle. However, by this point things were looking rather dire for the group Grogar and Melech were totally covered by swarms of the dreaded rot scarab swarms and Quick Ben was cornered by a third column of the beasts. It was at this point when things began to look doomed.

Below Six shadar-kai ascended the levitation lift, and footsteps in the distance heralded groups of four coming through the doors of each of the towers. The squad that comes up from below was led by a grizzled captain, with ritual scars standing
out on his cheeks. Two panthers move at his side with teeth bared as they hiss. The captain waved his hand commanding "Creatures of shadow - begone!" and the insect swarms began to dissolve back in to the ground. He then turned his attention to the party. “Stand down!” the captain shouts, “or your lives are forfeit!”.

At least the short respite had given the unconscious Melech time to come round and staunch his wounds. However, before the band had time to start a dialogue with the Captain they were interrupted.

Suddenly, the garden was illuminated by a pulse of white light. The archway to the south flared as it revealed the black shrine, and a familiar figure stepped from that chamber into the garden. It was none other than the veteran the group had spoken to in the Happy Beggar, but he was no longer stooped with the appearance of age and his scarred skin began to turn gray.

The guards saluted the shadar-kai, who appeared surprised at seeing the heroes. He took in the scene before him with a cold eye. “I am Sarshan. I assume someone has an explanation for this?”

Eager to alleviate their difficult situation Ben hoisted the corpse of Modra from the bag of holding, which seemed to provoke a smirk from Sharshan. However, before Ben had a chance to press home his advantage, he was interrupted by Thannu the Shadar Kai Captian who proceeded to deliver a military-style report on the
bands incursion of the tower, noting the areas they had infiltrated and the number of the dead and wounded.

Finally Sharshan addressed the heroes: “You are, quite literally, the last people I ever expected to see here. The charges leveled by my captain warrant torture
and death. However, I am told that an episode of sabotage in my foundry appears to have been thwarted, and that the you bear proof you have executed the traitorous Modra".

“As far as you’ve managed to infiltrate my operations, I can only assume you know a little of who I am. My wealth and reputation turn largely on honor, obligation, and secrecy. When I spoke to you of Modra, I hoped you would kill him and save me the risk of more exposure than he had already caused. The fact that you journeyed here to do the job is a surprise, but for your part in ending his threat to me and whatever he meant to do in the foundry, I am in your debt. However, for your role in the death of my personal guards, you are more greatly in mine. Here is a bargain that
balances the obligation for all of us. Join me.”

“Your skill at arms is clearly first rate. I offer you a place to use and advance that skill. Moreover, I offer you a place where you might live long enough to enjoy the fruits of your bravery. In a month, or six, or a year, your world will be a
place you will not want to live. Join me here instead.”

“Though I am nicely positioned to take advantage of these things, I know relatively little yet. What I do know, I cannot share for professional reasons, but trust me when I say that you do not want to know. Name your choice, friends.”

Realising their only hope laid in convincing the Shadar Kai they would accept Nalkyr spoke up. "We accept Sharshan and would be proud to fight with you". His companions didn't know whether the Drow's words were a lie, but he certainly appeared to be telling the truth.

"Very well escort them to the barracks" motioned Sharshan. "When you are rested I would like to speak to you about a betrayal of Overlooks council whom my sources inform me you are on good terms with".

Garig bit his lip and resisted the urge to cleave the Shadar Kai where he stood.

After spending some time in the barracks there was a familiar shaking underfoot as another tremor rose and fell quickly. Then suddenly, an ear-splitting explosion shook
the tower. Near the eastern side of the chamber, one of Sarshan’s guards shouted: “The foundry is in flames!” The guards were in motion, Sarshan all but
ignoring the party as he barked orders. One group was sent to the foundry, and another received orders to keep the mercenary camps under control. Sarshan then took a last squad of chainfighters with him as he moved for the lift. Suddenly the group was alone. Wasting no time they headed back for the teleportation arch in the garden below. However, when they reached the garden a familiar voice greeted them. "Going so soon, I knew you dogs were lying. Now prepare to die!" Flanked by his two spectral panthers Thannu strode in to the room.

"Hold him off, I'll see if I can work the portal" yelled Ben and he quickly went to work using his knowledge of the arcane to reconfigure the portal for the party's escape. Meanwhile, Garig unslung his axe and went to do battle with the veteran Shadar Kai. Thunnu's panthers darted in to the room harrying Ben and Nalklyr who were busy trying to work out the correct process to open the magical portal. The battle did not begin well for the heroes Thannu's twin katars struck home with alarming regularity and his shadowsteel plate seemed almost unbreeachble.

Finally Ben moved the last of the arcane gems in the portal in to place and the Portal was open. "Quick, fall back to the Portal, let us begone from this cursed place before it falls down around us!" yelled the wizard to his companions. The rest of the group gradually made their way across, however Grogar was caught by one of Thannu's attacks which caused shadows to writhe around his legs and rooting him to the spot. Garig, came back to the Dragonborn's aid striking a telling blow against the pursuing Shadar Kai. Meanwhile Ben, Melech and Nalkyr were gradually beginning to wear down the spectral panthers. Grogar suddenly broke free of the Shadar Kai's enchantment and took a great swing at him with his holy blade. Thannu tried to bring one of his katar's up to block the blow but it was too late, Thannu's head rolled along the floor coming to rest at the Paladins feet. With Thannu defeated his panthers followed in short order.

The party quickly searched the captain looting several magic items which Melech expressed more than a passing interest in, then darted through the magical portal. They emerged back at the cave of the Black Shrine and navigated back to Overlook.

The group then hurriedly made their way to High Hall the seat of Overlook government and reported their findings to the Council. One thing was clear - war was coming to the world, what was not know was when..............

The Foundry

On Leena's tip off we sought out the Dark Creeper known as Smeakin at the Slave Market. However, as we skirted the perimeter of the slave pens there was another earth tremor, but on this occasion a fiery rift opened up in the earth, out of which sprung an assortment of elemental creatures. A fire bat headed straight for us showering several of us in flame, it was accompanied by a Hellhound and some kind of fire-hurling beast which continued to lurk within the rift flinging balls of flame from afar. Fortunately, we managed to destroy the other wordly beasts with little trouble, which was met with cheers of delight from the petrified slaves in the nearby pen.

It didn't take long to locate Smeakin. We were able to gain audience with him with a pretense of being prospective slave buyers, however when we mentioned Modra's name he began to get suspicious. This esculated into a furious row, and it took Garig concerted effort not to remove the creepers head from his shoulders. We decided to leave Smeakin's tent before things got out of hand, but I was worried he had identified our group as a threat to Sarshan's operations based on the nature of the questions we had posed.

Shortly afterwards we were met by a messenger requesting a meet up with Leena, apparently she had some new information for us. We met up with her a one to many drinking tents in the mercenary camps.

“Well again. I did not tell you everything I knew of Modra when we first met. Modra and I worked together for a time, but when he elected to go behind Sarshan’s back, I told him we were done. I heard word of him in the camps even before you started asking around. He has a plan to disrupt Sarshan’s operations by destroying the foundry, then the tower.
Sarshan has a private tunnel connecting the two, and Modra is planning on venting the foundry’s destructive energy there. A mass of mercenaries is moving out tonight. He’ll be using that as cover when he goes inside. Modra’s made his bargain with fate, and honor decrees that he die for his betrayal. He won’t get tears from me. But if Sarshan captures him, he’ll die slowly. If it’s you, I’ll hope you make it quick.”

We contemplated how we should proceed. Perhaps we should just leave Modra to carry out his sabotage and hopefully disrupt Sharshan's plans I ventured. "Modra was responsible for my sister's death - I'm not about to risk losing his trail now" retorted an emotional Reneiss. "I've a score to setle with that bastard too" added Nalklyr "he stuck me with that dagger of his, before leaving us all for dead in the cavern with the wraiths". The matter was settled we decided to head out to the foundry at dusk.

A claxon call of horns sounded out from the west. A haze of red light glimmered against the clouds as the cascade of the magma shadow rift flared. As Leena predicted, a huge force
of mercenaries is on the move, heading out along the east road. The area around the foundry was deserted; the guards at the tower and the bridge had turned eastward to watch as Sarshan’s forces moved out.

Sensing we had a window of opportunity we headed to the entrance of the Forge and Garig decided the best approach would be to kick the door off its hinges. This had the advantage that we caught Modra's team of sabateurs off guard.

Inside the foundty the red glow of the lava trench was shrouded by shifting clouds of shadow and steam. Huge stone vats with steel doors lined both sides of this massive chamber, where great arrangements of pipes and vents connected them. Two squads of what looked like hobgoblins, their bodies seemingly cloaked in shadow, were working, supervised by another cloaked figure. They worked busily at two sections of pipe that diverted and channelled the lava flow.
Closer to the door, two other shadowgoblins stood guard.



With the element of surprise we were able to quickly overpower the shadowgoblins. However, are problems were only just begining. One of the cloaked figures pulled back it's hood to reveal himself as Modra. "You! What in the Nine Hells are you doing here? This time there will be no escape." With that he pulled a lever next to one of the huge stone vats. As the door opened, it
spilled a huge mass to the ground in a fountain of viscous green fluid. Out of it rose an enormous two-headed boar, bellowing as it clawed the ground. It charged straight for us knocking Garig to the ground. Modra meanwhile dissipated in to shadows. Fortunately, Garig recovered quickly. Seizing an opportunity he bashed to huge boar knocking it back into the lava trench and pinning it in place, which inflicted horrible burns on the mutated beast. I got to work eliminating Modra's henchmen. However, Modra's shadow walking ability made for a frustrating opponent as he became temporarily visible struck and then disappeared into the shadows once more. Grogar and Nalklyr soon learned to hold their attacks until Modra attacked and then unleash them when the dark creeper emerged from the shadows. Using these tactics we quickly gained he upper hand and finished Modra and his cohorts off. No sooner were we victorious, than Nalklyr keen hearing detected voices outside. It seemed Smeakin had deemed fit to alert Sharshan's guard to our presence. Thinking quickly I stuffed Modra's corpse into my bag of holding. "Quick, to the secret door" said Reneiss urgently. Nalklyr quickly located he concealed portal and we moved into the corridor beyond as quietly as we could closing the secret door behind us.

At the end of the corridor was another secret door. It opened into a library, which was occupied by a number of Shadar Kai guards. Clearly, they were not expecting our arrival and sprung up to attack us. However, they were quickly overcome as we fought our way in to the room. A Shadar Kai witch tried to escape but one of Nalklyr's crossbow bolts between her shoulder blades cut off any chance of her raising the alarm. Fortunately, the battle was over in mere seconds and we hoped that the noise hadn't alerted any of the other inhabitants of Sharshan's tower.........

Umbraforge

Steeling ourselves for whatever awaited us at the other side of the portal, we each stepped through in rapid succession; the sensation of using the device was one of slight discombobulation for a second or two, but we quickly regained our equilibrium and took in our new surroundings…
The building we emerged in was disappointingly mundane and a quick search revealed at least one crate of superior quality bladed weapons; this, it seemed, was indeed the warehouse used by the elusive Modra in his underworld trade in arms and armour. Tracks in the dust showed us that the place had been recently used, so we edged to the doors with some trepidation, to catch a glimpse of whatever exotic locale the portal had sent us to; to our surprise, we were clearly in the commercial district of Overlook! It became clear therefore that Modra was bringing his goods through the portal and storing them in this very warehouse, for onward transit to his nefarious customers. The question remained however – where did the goods originate?
With this part of the mystery still eluding us, we decided to conceal any trace of our presence as best we could and return through the portal, to continue our exploration of the underground complex beneath the Happy Beggar, convinced that we would find more of interest there.
After stepping back through the portal, a further series of twisting passages brought us to another cavern; within was a Dark Creeper lurking before a second portal device, a frustrated expression on its face; as we entered the room and fanned out around the doorway, the creature glared at us with a hate-filled expression, hissing, “Give me my key!”

The portal he stood before had a key-shaped indentation in its frame, which matched perfectly the strange brass key we had found two copies of in our earlier adventures, both of which nestled in my belt pouch ; we quickly surmised that the key must operate the portal and that being the case, the creature before us was no ordinary Dark Creeper, but Modra himself!
“Go to hell Modra!” shouted Garig, charging towards him.
“Ha – Company of the Free? Company of the Dead more like!” shouted Modra, as he gestured towards the portal and was answered by the appearance of 5 insubstantial creatures of shadow; Wraiths!
No sooner had the Wraiths appeared than they began to assail us, their attacks sapping our strength and willpower and in some cases, severely limiting our ability to fight back effectively. When we were able to hit them, our weapons seemed to pass through their insubstantial forms doing very little damage; a few minutes into the battle, it became clear that Modra’s incorporeal servants had given him the upper hand.

“Give me my key and I will call off the Wraiths!” he yelled smugly, infuriating the impetuous Garig.
“Screw you Modra!” he retorted, his battle-frenzy consuming all reason.
Sensing the inevitable outcome if we continued this particular fight, I decided to capitulate and used a minor cantrip to levitate the key towards Modra, hoping against hope that he would indeed banish the Wraiths if we complied with his instruction; as the key neared him, he snatched it from the air and laughed contemptuously,
“Thank you fools; now you die!”
With that, he lunged for the portal and disappeared through it, leaving the Wraiths to finish what they had started; I felt the accusing eyes of my companions on me as my mistake became clear to everyone…
The battle was going badly for us, as the Wraiths acted almost with impunity – their attacks wearing us down whilst, despite Grogar’s best efforts to call down divine power to weaken them, our own attacks continued to have little or no effect on them.
Suddenly, Melech shouted,
“Ben – open the portal!”
Quickly realizing that I did indeed have a second key for the portal that Modra had used to escape, I rushed towards it and pressed the brass key into its proper place; the portal responded and hummed into life! It became clear to me almost immediately however that the time available to pass through was limited – it would shut down in a few seconds time!
“Everyone, through the portal!” I yelled as I stepped towards it myself and began to pass through; as I did so, my final sight was of Nalklyr, hard pressed on all sides by the foul Wraiths, crumple beneath a series of attacks and fall to the ground; as my companions maneuvered for the portal, Garig and Grogar backing each other up as they edged nearer, the resourceful Rennis disengaged from her own foe, grabbed Nalklyr’s limp body and dragged him towards the portal…
Somehow we all made it through the portal; Melech quickly administering healing to Nalklyr and getting him back on his feet.
We emerged in a strange land, like nothing we’d ever seen before. A wide plain of gray-green grass and stunted black trees spreads beneath a sky scoured by fast-moving clouds. The sun was bright above but somehow didn’t cut the darkness that draped every rock and every blade of grass in gray gloom. This, we realised, was the Shadowfell…



From the mouth of the cavern we had emerged in, a wide and well-traveled road ran in a curving line to the north. There, perhaps a quarter-mile away, was a military camp. Buildings were scattered here and there, with tents and pavilions spreading between them. Torches and fires burnt brightly against the ever-present shadow, and lone trees and tall stands of gray-green grass were whipped by a hissing wind. Looming above it all, a rise of black rock to the west was rent by a seething volcanic rift. Black-streaked lava coursed from it to descend into a narrow channel, and a permanent pall of glowing red-black smoke rose above it. Over this molten flow, a great stone bridge arched. This wide east-west road met the road north from the cavern. North of the bridge stood a tall tower with a lower building spread in its shadow.
We approached the frontier of what was clearly a mercenary camp unchallenged, and a virtual city was spread out before us. Beneath patched canvas tents stood open-air taverns, market stalls, apothecaries and herbalists, weaponsmiths and armorers, butchers and greengrocers—all doing roaring trade. A training ground opened up between the various camps, and soldiers of different races clashed against each other with sword and shield. In the quieter corners, we saw combat casters training—the flare of arcane fire dancing between them. As we approached, we noticed with surprise that these were not Shadowfell mercenaries for the most part; though Shadar-Kai and Dark Ones were well represented, the fields and camps were packed with Orcs and Hobgoblins, Ogres and Trolls, Lizardfolk and Kobolds and a dozen other monstrous races of the world.
This proved helpful, as our presence in the camp went virtually unnoticed; clearly, we were seen as yet another mercenary band come to join whatever was going on in this forbidding place. We resolved therefore to use the opportunity to gather what information we could by talking to as many denizens of the camp as were willing to speak to us.
We soon discovered that this place was known as The Umbraforge, dominion of Sarshan, a trader of great reputation and even greater wealth. The tower, foundry, and forges were his, the camps those of the mercenaries and slaves whose services he sells across the Shadowfell and the world.
Sarshan, we were able to discover, is Shadar-Kai, an outcast who had made a name for himself as the leader of a legendary mercenary band known as the Black Arrow. At their height, the Arrow put so much fear in generals and kings alike that Sarshan would take payment to fight for one group, then take a bigger payment from their foe to stand down.
We were also able to learn that Modra is known well in Umbraforge, but for all the wrong reasons now. He was one of Sarshan’s trusted lieutenants before he tried to a broker a weapons deal that Sarshan had already turned down. The job that Sarshan refused was some orc king’s raid on a Dwarven citadel; Sarshan was renowned to never make a sale if it had a chance of coming back to him, and for good reason. This job went bad, the rumours said, and people know that Modra sold the Orc his weapons; clearly this referred to the recent attempt to sack Bodrin’s Watch, an attempt that we had played a large part in thwarting, but one that had cost many lives; Modra’s account was growing increasingly overdrawn, and as we gathered information, we resolved to call in that debt…
It had also become clear to us however that Modra was a small cog in a much larger machine; this Sharshan was clearly the big player here and the source of Modra’s supply of shadowsteel weapons and armour. We knew that we were placing ourselves in grave danger by continuing our investigations right here under Sharshan’s nose, but felt compelled to get all the information we could.
Sometime during the afternoon, as we spoke with the various denizens of the mercenary camp, we came across a crowd of people watching an Ogre band going through combat drills; the massive beasts wielded a variety of unfeasibly large weapons and laid about each other with fierce abandon. As we watched, one of them turned to the crowd and roared,
“YOU THINK YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO FIGHT ALONGSIDE THE BONECRUSHER CLAN?!”
Predictably unable to ignore the challenge, Garig fixed the creature with a contemptuous stare and replied with a snarl,
“Oh aye.”
The ogres immediately formed up and began to maneuver towards us, intent on a fight; sensing that we risked losing face if we backed down from this challenge, we made our own moves to be ready for the Ogres – I realised with trepidation that we faced 5 of the hulking beasts, one of whom was leading a giant beetle on a chain…
The battle was quickly joined, a huge puddle of mud between us and them giving us some time to launch ranged attacks; despite their great size and strength, we were able to see off the threat with relative ease – soon enough, the Ogres lay dead or dying all around us, with little or no harm done to our group. As we sized up the spoils, I could sense the crowd eyeing us with newfound respect; clearly, Garig’s inability to let the Ogre’s challenge go unanswered had done us a favour.

As we contemplated our next move, we were approached by a Shadar-Kai witch; strikingly beautiful though she was, our previous encounters with such foes had us all tense and ready for a fight. No attack came however – instead, she cast an appraising eye over us and said, “Impressive; the Bonecrushers were no pushovers – clearly you are more skilled than the usual thugs and bashers we get around here.”
As we conversed with the Witch, who we learned was called Leena, she told us more about this Sharshan’s operation in the Umbraforge; the foundry it seemed is the new jewel of Sarshan’s operations, its power coming from the fire and shadow driving its furnaces. Sarshan’s sages create beasts of battle there, born killers with magic in their blood.
It used to be that Sarshan brokered mercenaries mostly within the Shadowfell, but that, she told us, was changing. Dark Ones and Shadar-Kai are still his elite troops, but more and more, he brings creatures from the world to Umbraforge for training, then marches them off to places unknown. The Shadowfell, it seemed, is only a stopping-off place for Sharshan’s mercenaries; the witch reported seeing a force of Archons from the Elemental Chaos here not six months ago, also a githyanki from the Astral Sea. She didn’t know what job they took for Sharshan, but we all agreed that whomever got in their way is unlikely to have lived to tell the tale.
To reiterate her assertions, Leena told us that Sharshan’s mercenary operations had tripled in size in months past, but that these mercenaries did not fight in the Shadowfell; rather, when his forces are bought and sent on the march, they’re bound for portals to the world. Shadar-kai, Dark Ones, Undead, Giants, Ogres, Trolls, Gnolls, Orcs — Sharshan has the armies of two planes on the march. War, she claimed, is brewing in the Realms, but the forces that will fight it are moving into position in the Shadowfell, unseen.
Whilst it felt strange to have a cordial conversation with a Shadar-Kai, Leena proved to be personable and helpful; as we parted, she suggested we go to the slave compound and seek out a Dark Creeper named Smeakin; she felt certain that he would have further information about Modra and that as a close associate of Sharshan, we might also learn more about that intriguing individual…

Below the Happy Beggar

Following a good night’s rest, we returned to the Happy Beggar, determined to explore the secret passage that Nalklyr had found. Reniss, the sister of the Farstriders fallen member Jen, had asked to accompany us and having seen her lethal looking bow and twin swords, we had readily agreed. As we set out, it seemed clear that our recent travails had imbued in all of us new levels of insight into our chosen areas of expertise – I for one had finally mastered a new spell that had eluded me for some time, so secretly hoped for an opportunity to test it out…
The Happy Beggar was peopled by the same joyless crowd as our previous visit; it seems often the case with gatherings of the religiously minded that one is required to check in ones sense of humour at the door on arrival. Prashant and Ausma, the patrons, were bustling around administering aid and wise words to the poor and needy, and seemed pleased to see us; less so however when, tired of dissembling, Nalklyr and Grogar decided to come clean about the passage we had found and our reasons for wanting to explore. Prashant insisted that the cellar was disused due to a collapsed ceiling and was far too dangerous for us to enter; he seemed resolute in his position and started to get rather agitated. Grogar was able to calm him however and when Nalkyr showed him the secret door, he capitulated and remembered that in recent months, he had often found the door to the cellar open when he was certain he had always left it locked.
Leaving the old man scratching his head, we filed through the secret door into a rough hewn passage, Nalklyr scouting ahead in an attempt to give us advance warning of any danger. Shortly after he disappeared down a twisting passageway, we heard a cry of “Giant Bats!” and the Drow trotted back towards us, a wry smile on his face. “The passage ends in a steep slope that drops into a cave – four giant bats reside therein.” With that, he withdrew into the shadows as we assumed what had become our customary marching order – as ever, the massive human warrior Garig eagerly taking the vanguard.
As we reached the cave entrance, it became clear that the slope leading into it was treacherous indeed; it banked downwards at a steep angle and was covered in loose shale and stones. The cave itself was split by a sheer cliff face of some twenty feet in height and as we peered upwards, the bats that Nalkyr had spotted became visible to us all; each was the size of a large man, and sported menacing sword-like appendages on their tails….
With a roar, Garig charged down the slope, half-running, half-falling, and yelled a challenge to the circling creatures; Grogar and Melech followed closely afterwards and as they stood in a defensive formation, the bats began to swoop past, attacking with their tail weapons. The creatures mobility quickly told, as they focused attacks on Garig and did him grievous harm; Melech soon had him hale and hearty again through a yelled exhortation to greater efforts, but the creatures strategy of swooping past to launch a flying attack made them damnably hard to hit. We started to get their measure however, as the fighters readied attacks for the moment the bats drew into range; meanwhile, myself, Reniss and Nalklyr launched ranged attacks at telling moments.
After making heavy weather of the vicious beasts, we eventually felled all four and were forced to rest for a few moments, to recover our strength. For my part, I used the time to summon a magical Floating Disc, so as to traverse the steep slope and cliff face in a dignified manner; Melech also availed himself of this wizardly form of transport, in a rare display of good sense. My comrades used their athleticism and brute strength to traverse the obstacles before us, so that we once again filed down a rough hewn corridor away from the chamber of the bats, in our customary order of readiness.
Some way on, we came silently upon a further chamber, quite large and occupied by several beings, not least another Shadar-Kai Witch! The chamber looked to be a disused temple of some kind and currently contained, aside from the Witch, around half a dozen or so Dark Creepers who were manhandling two caged Shadowhounds. It was clear that we had come upon the cavern with sufficient stealth as to go, at this point, unnoticed by the occupants, so I was able to pass on what knowledge I had of them; Shadar-Kai are known as murderous followers of Kelemvor and the Shadowhounds I seemed to recall were used for their relentless tracking and hunting instincts. All in all, this looked like quite a fight….
Steeling ourselves for a fierce battle, we entered the room and used the element of surprise to fan out into strategically advantageous positions; Garig and Melech charged the knot of Dark Creepers to tie them up in melee, Grogar made a bee-line for the Witch, whilst Nalklyr melted into shadows, seeking to harry the witch with his lethal crossbow attacks. I hung back, seeking a spot that allowed me to use my magic to control the battlefield.
As battle was joined, one of the Dark Creepers contrived a way to get free from Garig and Melech’s whirlwind of attacks and release the Shadowhounds; the battle took on a new intensity as the fierce beasts joined the fray and began to teleport at will, appearing from nowhere to attack us, both with vicious bites and more worryingly, some kind of psychic attack, focused through a bloodcurdling howl.
Fortuntately, Grogar and Nalklyr, helped by Reniss and her trusty bow, had severely weakened the Witch, who was affecting virtually all of us with demoralising psychic blasts; a focused attack from all of us finished her off, just in time, as the Shadowhounds teleported right into our midst. With myself and Nalklyr isolated from our melee support, things looked dangerous for both of us… At this point I was able to test my new spell, creating a zone of grasping shadows right on top of the hounds, then blasting one of them away from us with a wave of thunder; Nalklry threw caution to the wind and pressed the remaining hound, hoping to finish it before its fellow rejoined the fray. Grogar sensed his intention and charged the beast, with no regard for his own safety; the combination of attacks, both physical and magical, was sufficient to destroy the foul creature. No respite however, as the second hound charged back into the fray, directly into my zone of shadow! Once again, a focused combination of attacks blasted into the hound and despite its demoralizing howl, we were able to send it back to its maker; several healing interventions were required at this stage, as Grogar and Melech put those of us who were sorely injured back together, all the while battling the troublesome Creepers, who steadfastly refused to die.
Eventually the room was cleared and we were able to take a few minutes to draw breath; two rooms in to this underground lair and already, we had faced an almost overwhelming number of enemies. As we took a brief rest to recover our strength, we noticed that the room had the look of a long unused temple, with fresco’s decorating the walls – those fresco’s depicted humans performing acts of worship and obeisance to dark, shadowy creatures. Clearly, something was afoot here that was much bigger than the machinations of the erstwhile Modra…
Searching the bodies of the fallen, my comrades came away with a healing potion and a metallic headpiece, which we identified as a Diadem of Acuity; I barely noticed however, intent as I was on studying the strange archway in the middle of the room – it was decorated with crystals and runes and I was able to discern that we stood before a Shadar-Kai portal of teleportation; a clear image of the destination was visible - a dark warehouse, stacked with boxes and crates. We looked at each other apprehensively, an unspoken question in all our minds; “Who first….?”

Return to Overlook

After a short break to marshall our strength, we embarked on the journey back to Overlook, flushed with our own success but eager to learn of events at Bordrins Watch; our endeavours could easily count for naught if that garrison had been overrun.

The two days of travel through the mountains were arduous, but passed without incident.

On reaching Overlook, we entered the city to scenes of great excitement; many of the townsfolk had heard of our success in the Nexus and clapped and cheered as we passed by. Some of us were more comfortable with this than others – Garig in particular seemed unsettled by the adulation of the crowd and reacted impatiently; either way, we were quickly ushered to High Hall, where we were told that Morgoff Stonefist, the leader of the Council of Elders was to address the crowd.

Morgoff spoke of the success of the campaign on both fronts; our work in the catacombs and ultimately in sealing off the Nexus had prevented a great many of the Horde from joining the fray. The defenders of Bordruns Watch had also held off those remaining Orcs, a task apparently made easier by our defeating their ferocious leader, Tusk. The distinguished Dwarf spoke eloquently of our heroism and of the contribution we had made to the continued survival and prosperity of the people of Overlook; we were rewarded for our contribution in several ways, not least with the presentation of a Healers Sash, an item with great healing power. We elected that Grogar should wear the sash, an honour that he accepted with his usual humility and good grace. We also received a considerable sum of gold and a medallion apiece conveying upon us the freedom of the city. Despite the feigned grumbles of some of my colleagues, I know that all of us felt pleased and proud at the success of our venture; the Company of the Free had begun to shape its legend. As we filed out of High Hall, we noted with amusement that Grogar had been ambushed by Myra Edgerton, the rotund half-elf woman who had taken a shine to him before we left town; it seemed a further assignation was being planned for the following evening.

After the ceremony we sought out the Freeriders, the adventuring band we had become acquainted with, and retired with them to a local alehouse to toast our safe return and compare notes; it soon became obvious that both our parties felt that there was more afoot than had originally met the eye. The Orcs we had fought kept strangely powerful bedfellows, the Shadar-Kai witch backing up Tusk for example, and they seemed unusually well armed and armoured – our fellow adventurers noting that they had observed some lowly Orcs using Shadowsteel weaponry; this was incongruous to say the least.

The morning after a night of the type of determined drunkenness that can only be precipitated by having defied certain death, we were once again all business, scouring the shops of Overlook for items that we would need for our upcoming adventures. As we did so, we began to hear disturbing rumours about the unusual levels of organisation and readiness the attacking Orc force had displayed; furthermore, there were suggestions that even as the threat at Bordrins Watch had ended, another force was rising up from the once disparate rabble of humanoid monsters inhabiting the mountains. Once again, this force was rumoured to be sporting good quality arms and armour…..

As we questioned the citizens of Overlook, one name repeatedly came up – Modra. We recalled the name from the sending stone we had retrieved from the body of Jen, formerly of the ill-fated Farstriders; “Find Modra” the message had said.

Our investigations revealed that this Modra was a Dark Creeper, a breed we had more than enough trouble with to date, and that he was a well-known figure in the criminal underworld of Overlook, specializing in the procurement and supply of high grade weapons and armour through the black market. We were able to learn that in the weeks and months prior to the Orc invasion, this Modra had been busy recruiting people with experience of mining the Thunderpeak Mountains and later, brokering a deal for weapons of war with a Shadar-Kai witch; could this be the Shadowsteel connection the Freeriders had pointed out? Either way, the rumours agreed that Modra had not been seen since just before the raid on Bordrins Watch and that at that time, he had gone to ground – apparently, a deal had gone bad and someone was out to get him.

As the rumours and stories we collected began to coalesce, we were attacked in an alleyway in a less salubrious part of Overlook; the attack was little more than an annoyance, coming as it did from only a handful of assailants, but served as a reminder of our antagonistic relationship with the dominant criminal gang of the city, The Lost Ones; we quickly defeated the insultingly few enemies, keeping one alive for questioning – he had little of value to say however, and was quickly dispatched with a dagger to the throat by Nalklyr. However, we did find a note penned by the elusive Modra. It seemed he was desperate to acquire the strange brass key which we had found on the dark creeper in the tunnels of the Nexus.

Grogar returned from his romantic evening with Myra, with yet more information pointing to this Modra character; frustratingly however, despite the numerous leads we were picking up, none gave a clue as to his whereabouts. The frustration ended however when we bumped into the sister of the Farstriders Jen, searching the taverns and inns for news of her sisters whereabouts; we passed on the sad news of her sisters untimely demise and she in turn told us of a titbit she had picked up from a drunken dark creeper. Evidently, Modra was indeed being hunted and had mentioned an almshouse in Tradetown called the Happy Beggar. At last we had a place as well as a name, and after comforting the poor woman, we headed to Tradetown without delay.

The almshouse was not easy to find amongst the bustling industry of Tradetown, but find it we did; the establishment was run by an elderly couple, retired Paladins both and filled with the pompous religious fervor that only such folk can muster. Fortunately for us, Grogar is more action than words, so we are not often subject to the type of dull sermons that these two were renowned for.

After joining a quick singsong to win their favour, we began to circulate around the place, asking questions about Modra and looking to firm up the lead we had been given; a diseased old man named Brenat affirmed that Modra had indeed used the Happy Beggar as cover for clandestine meetings in the past, but that he hadn’t seen him for around two years. He also told us that Modra was a blackhearted scoundrel who wouldn’t hesitate to kill us if he got the chance. Whilst we talked with the old man, Nalklyr crept downstairs and stealthily explored those parts of the house that were not open to the public; he soon returned, indicating that he had found a hidden passage in the cellar.

We resolved to rest ourselves thoroughly before returning to the almshouse to explore the hidden passage; would it lead us to Modra? Was this Modra merely a front and were we pitting ourselves against a much more powerful foe? What force was bringing together disparate creatures, equipping them and pitting them against the civilized societies of the region?

We felt sure that the answers to all these questions and more besides lay on the other side of Nalklyr’s secret passage….

The Nexus

The final room in the complex could only be the Nexus. It was a massive chamber, dominated by a great stone and bronze cylinder in its centre. Running round the perimeter of the room was a steel mesh catwalk which led upwards to a platform some 80 feet high on top of which was a large control panel. Dotted around the room were a number of tunnels leading to who knows where.

"Quickly, get to the control panel, there's no time the orc horde will be upon in no time!" urged Kalad. As if on cue, orcs began to pour through the tunnels in to the room.

"Looks like well have to fight our way through" mused Garig and the big fighter moved purposefully up the steps to meet the on rushing orcs. The rest of the group took Garigs lead.



Although numerous, most of the orcs were lowly drudges and other than the odd lucky blow, were no match for the steel and spell of the band. However, after a few minutes hacking through the orc foot soldiers, a huge Orog accompanied by a Shadar Kai witch entered the room. The presence of this brute seemed to inspire the lowly orcs "For Tusk!" cried several of the minions before charging in to battle.

Pushing through his own troops Tusk headed straight for the adventurers. It was Grogar who found himself in the line of fire first. "Weakling dragonbait, prepare to meet thy pathetic God" mocked the huge half ogre. With that he launched a series of devasting attacks at the Paladin which launched him into the wall rendering him unconscious. Sensing his peril Kalad and Garig moved up to engage the mighty brute.

"On your feet, Grogar" yelled Melech and to everyones relief the Dragonborn began to stir. Meanwhile Nalklyr moved on to a central walkway seeking a better vantage point to fire upon Orc chieftain and Ben was flinging blast after blast of searing fire on the never ending waves of minions in a desperate bid to stop the heroes being surrounded.

The Shadar Kai was keeping a safe distance from the heroes, she had placed some kind of mystical curse on Grogar, Kalid and Garig and was launching a series of psychic attacks on the heroes which wracked them with pain.

Nalkylr summoned his innate drow magic darkfire ability and Tusk was immediately shrouded in magical light which momentarily distracted the beast. Seizing his opportunity, Nalklyr followed up with a precise shot from his enchanted crossbow. The quarrel flew straight and true, striking the orog at a vulnerable gap in his plate armour. As the poison entered his system it seemed to make him somewhat drowsy and weakened. It was probably just as well for with a great sweep of his falchion he cleaved Melech, Garig and Kalad however the weakened blow was not as deadly as it might have been. Ben turned his attention from the orcs pouring in from the tunnels to Tusk, he reasoned that the monster might be more vulnerable to mental rather than physical attacks and uttered the incantation for an illusionary ambush spell. His theory was proved when Tusk collapsed on the floor clutching his enormous head.

Sensing this was a pivotal moment the party pressed on up to the platform cutting through the dozens of orcs which stood in their way. Unfortunately, Nalkyr was trapped on the lower floor as a number of the drudges had broken off to fight him and was doing his best to hold them at bay.

Feeling he had a personal score to settle with the Shadar Kai witch Grogar pushed his way through the melee until he was face to face with her. When he swung his fullblade a sudden jolt of pain seared through him but it was not enough to distract him from his task and when he had finished the Shadar Kai's decapitated body lay at his feet.

The party then fought their way through to the control panel. Garig seeing Nalkyr stranded below threw down a rope and attempted to pull the drow to saftey, whilst Kalad and Ben attempted to figure out the machinations of the control panel. Meanwhile Melech and Grogar formed a defensive line to repel the dozens of Orcs still pouring in to the room.

After struggling attempting to pull Nalklyr up, Garig summoned some hidden reserve of strength and with a mighty heaving slowly pulled the drow up 20 feet into the air. It was not a moment too soon. After some trial and error Ben and Kalad stumble across the correct sequence of button presses and lever pulls to activate the control panel. It whirred in to life and a series of panels below opened up gouting boiling water in to the room, within moment to bottom of the room was submerged taking several of the orcs to an agonizing death. With renewed incentive , Garig heaved Nalkyr again finally pulling him up to the top platform.

"Quick, head for the escape hatch" cried Kalad. Each of the party, headed up nearby ladders in to the hatch whilst Melech and Grogar held off the pursuing orcs. Meanwhile the water was steadily rising and was mere feet below their position.

"After you, my good man" smiled Melech to Grogar. Without time to argue with the Tiefling Grogar nodded and headed for the hatch. Ensuring his companions were safe Melech ran for the ladder. One of the orcs caught him with a blow to the ribs, but bruised and bleeding the tough warlord hauled himself up the ladders and through the hatch. Kalad was on hand to slam the door shut as soon as he was through and within moments the sounds of the orcs desperate beating on the hatch followed by their horrible screams as they were boiled alive were quickly drowned out by the gurgling of the water below.

Unusually for the serious dwarf he was wearing a large grin. "Orcs don't taste great, however you cook them" he chuckled. "Back to Overlook my friends?".

They have a cave troll!

The only way onwards was through the iron doors at the end of corridor. Stepping through the party emerged on a huge chamber on two levels. Running down each side of the room were massive iron pipes, each fitted with large valves, also a bloody corpse marked the entrance. Of more immediate concern were the group of orcs which were milling around the place, but soon sprang in to action when the party entered the room. Scuttling around on the lower floor a group of fire beetles began moving menacing toward the heroes. The party split in to two groups Garig and Kalad headed off the fire beatles whilst the others tackled the orcs. Ben quickly put down several of the orcs in bursts of flame, whilst Grogar, Nalklyr and Melech tore in to a nearby Scout. Things appeared to be going well until a short humanoid wreathed in shadow seemed to materialise out of nowhere plunging a dagger into Nalklyr's flank. On the other side of the room the two remaining beetles sprayed fire on Kalad and Garig badly incinerating the warriors. However, this turned out to be a minor setback, Kalad tore in to the beetles with renewed gusto smashing the pairs to smouldering pieces whilst, Nalklyr and Melech struck telling blows on the dark one. Sensing it's predicament it tried to bolt for the doors, however one of Bens freezing rays soon stopped it in it's tracks and Melech quickly put the creature out of it's misery. The warriors soon mopped up the orc archers and the party paused to search the room. Kalad made straight for the valves explaining that it was necessary to open the valves in closing the nexus, this would allow scalding hot water through the pipes. The corpse on the floor was barely recognisable as Jen, a half elf warlock and member of the Farstriders. Clasped in her lifeless fingers was what Ben identified to be a sending stone - a specially enchanted item which would allow it's user to send a message to a similarly enchanted paired stone. Attuning himself to the stones magic Ben was able to sense the last message sent "Find Modra". The name didn't mean anything to anyone, although Ben thought it must be important as it was likely these words were Jen's last.



The only exit was a door which lead to a crossroads. The party decided to explore the corridor heading south. What greeted them was a scene of utter carnage. Dominating the room was a huge cave troll, covered in blood and gore. At it's feet was what remained of the Farstriders which the troll's orcish handlers were taking wicked delight in feeding to the foul beast. A large mural on the floor and alter at the far end of the room indicated this has once served as a place of worship to Moradin. Outraged Kalad sprung in to battle heading straight for the cave troll hacking any orcs down who were foolish enough to stand in his way. Melech also moved up to assist the enraged dwarf. The troll thundered toward the courageous duo and snatched Melech up off the ground in one of it's massive hands. Meanwhile Ben threw a fireburst at two of the orcs and in a flash charred remains lay on the stone floor. However, at the back of the room a pair of orc bombardiers launched cinderbombs at the heroes. The blasts were fierce and let Ban, Nalklyr and Grogar blackened but still on their feet. Grogar and Nalklyr decided to engage the incendiary throwing orcs before they had chance to launch any further bombs. Meanwhile the orc lifted Melech above his head - it was clear the beast intended to use Melech as an improvised weapon! In a moment of sheer desperation Melech launched a boot into the troll's ugly snout and with every ounce of strength managed to wriggle free of it's grasp.

Ben sensed an opportunity, he knew troll's had incredible powers of regeneration but fire or acid would negate this power. He decided to cast a powerful spell which summoned a globe of magical fire which he positioned behind the monster. Flames licked and sizzled the brutes putrid flesh and it howled in terror. Kalad and Melech seized the opportunity afforded by it's panic to land a series of devastating blows. Meanwhile, Grogar and Nalkylr put down the bombardiers.

Wracked with pain from the magical flames the troll flailed wildly but was easily dodged, and it was fitting that the fatal blow was struck by Kalad, severing the beast's head from its shoulders - Moradin's will perhaps?

With the battle ended the heroes went to inspect the remains of the Farstriders. Searching through their gear revealed a suit of magical chain armour and a enchanted belt. "Even though we did not see eye to eye, I feel the Farstriders would approve of us using their gear to avenge their deaths" remarked Garig.

"Quickly", yelled Kalad, "there is not much time, we must seal the Nexus".

The party headed to the far end of the corridor where they found some long abandoned sleeping quarters. Searching the areas were a couple of orc scouts. Fired up from the deaths of the farstriders the band charged in to battle quickly cutting down the orcs. Several, orcs presently appeared from the adjoining rooms but they too were cut down in righteous fury. Thinking the battle over the battle stowed their weapons ready to search the bodies, however such thoughts were pushed aside when they heard a faint groaning behind them. They turned to see Ben suspended in mid air. Above him attached to the ceiling clung some kind of chameleon type humanoid with one tentacled arm wrapped around the wizards neck. Unable to reach with his axe Garig pulled out a javelin and flung it at the strange creature. The missile aimed straight and true, however at the last moment the tentacled monstrosity pulled Ben in front of him using him as a human shield. Ben grunted as the javelin thudded in to him. Sensing the futility of attacking the creature whilst it had Ben in its tentacled grasp the party rushed toward the ensnared wizard and began attempting to tug the distressed mage free. With a great heave the group pulled Ben from the chokers grasp, however by the time they looked up again the creature had scurried off in to the darkness in search of easier prey.

Og

Having carefully negotiated the massive stone stairs the heroes arrived in a large cavern. Several forges had been built in to the walls one of which appeared to have been damaged which in turn had started a blazing fire. Oblivious to the party several orcs gathered round the badly tortured figure of a dwarf. Barely perceptible above the roar of the fire a brutish Orog - half orc, half ogre demanded "Dwarf scum open tunnel or Og feed you to fire!".



Taking advantage of the fact the orcs were distracted the heroes launched their attack. Ben launched a burst of fire which immediately incinerated a couple of the weaker orcs. Melech, Grogar and Garig charged in to the room attacking the nearest orcs whilst Nalkyr took an orc berserker in the throat with a crossbow bolt. Upon seeing the heroes burst into the room Og dropped the dwarf to the floor and eagerly ran to join the battle taking a massive swing at Grogar and Melech.

Meanwhile Garig was fending off a Shaman and berserker and a second berserker charged Nalklyr and Ben - it hit Nalklyr with a massive blow from it's greataxe badly wounding him. Reacting quickly to the danger Ben summoned a wave of Thunder blasting the creature backwards this was followed by a second spell which cascaded rays of ice freezing both the berserker and the shaman to the floor. The shaman managed to back away from Garig far enough to summon an animated hammer of force which blasted Grogar and Melech knocking them to the floor.

Seizing his advantage Og took another terrible sweep with massive sword hacking at Melech and Grogar as they scrambled on the floor. Meanwhile as Garig was trying to press the shaman, a berserker maneuvered behind him dealing a vicious blow which knocked him unconscious.

Melech realised the battle was beginning to slip away. He got back on his feet and shouted over to Garig "On your feet warrior" and looked on in relief as the big warrior began to stir. He realised the key to victory was to put down the orog hero quickly, "Friends our moment of victory is in our grasp, this savage beast cannot hope to stand against our might. For the Company of the Free!" With that he launched a savage attack on the monster and for the first time in his life Og was in a battle he was not sure he could win.

The rest of the heroes looked on in awe and with renewed determination. Garig swung his axe and dismembered the Shaman whilst the rest of the party rained blow after blow on the huge orog. Sensing his imminent demise Og decided that he would try to take as many of his assailants down with him. as he could. With a final sweep of his sword he swung desperately at Nalklyr, Grogar and Melech. The blow was fatal. The teifling warlord was caught in the throat and collapsed in a pool of blood.

With a rage borne of vengeance Grogar aimed a mighty blow at the Orog champion and his head sailed through the air into the flames as his headless corpse slumped to the ground. The last remaining berserker tried desperately to push Garig in to the flames, but in vain as Garig responded by cutting the unfortunate creature in to peices with his mighty axe.

The battle was over and it had taken it's toll on the heroes. Grogar determined that Melech was beyond any of the paladins healing and would need to be taken to a temple and the gods would have to decide whether his soul was fit to return to the mortal realm.



The group then moved to aid the badly beaten dwarf. Barely conscious and badly tortured by the orcs the dwarf explained that he was Kalad, paladin of Moradin and the only surviving member of the Order of the Sundered Chain. The Orcs had come up through the tunnels taking the dwarves by surprise killing most of them whilst they slept. Fortunately he had managed to collapse the tunnels, cutting off the rest of the orcs. However, there was still other tunnels under Bodrin's Watch which would have to be sealed. Without needing to be asked the heroes immediately volunteered for the task. Kalad went on to explain that there was a central point to the tunnel complex known as the Nexus. Although he had not been there for several decades he felt confident he could help the band find it and seal it off. The group decided to rest before heading back to Overlook.

When they returned to Overlook, the city was in panic. Several advance parties of Orcs had been spotted recently and the Farstriders who had been given the tasked of securing the tunnels below had not returned. Worse still scouts reported that the main host of the orc army was barely a day's march away.

Kalad took the party to the Stone Anvil, a mightly Cathedral to Moradin in the Stonehammer District. There they met with High Ancestor Durkik Bronzegilder, who offered to perform the Raise Dead ritual on Melech. Gratefully accepting his help the group then went organise horses and prepare for their trip to the Vents. After a restless nights sleep the party were awoken by Hih Ancester Durkik who was accompanied by Melech who has once again risen from the dead. Kalad looked at the Warlord and smiled. It seems Moradin still has plans for you my friend, it's good to have you back."

With no time to spare the party left Overlook and set out for the Vents. By the afternoon they had arrived. The Vents comprised a series of tunnels and fissures carved through the rock at the foot of the Thunder Peaks. The area reeked of sulphur and steam poured out of the openings, by the entrance 5 horses were tied by a covered campsite. "The Farstrider's horses" Ben surmised.

The journey through the vents was arduous and treacherous. Once inside the complex the tunnels multiplied and twisted in a variety of directions. Fortunately, Ben's experience of such formations was sufficient to guide the party through the safest route and Grogar and Garig were strong enough to climb and squeeze over and through the natural obstacles the encountered.

Finally the mazelike tunnels brought them in to a wide corridor. Judging by the smooth walls and fine construction it was of dwarven build. A number of orcs were stood around arguing between themselves although on seeing the party emerge from the tunnels the immediately ceased their row and drew their weapons. Nalkyr was first to act firing a bolt at an orc freak and taking it in the eye. Garig followed this up with a viscious axe blow which finished the creature off.

With little regard for it's comapanions, one of the orcs threw a cinderbomb in the centre of the room catching just about everyone in the explosion. Charred and smoldering Grogar headed to engage the bombardier before he could lob any more of the devices. Garig and Nalkyr then set about the remaining orc freak, whilst Ben, Kalad and Melech dealt with the orc Sergeant who was the leader of the group. Despite another explosion the orcs were clearly overmatched and it did not take the party long to vanquish their foes.

The party continued down the corridor when suddenly their was an audible "click". Grogar had stepped on a pressure plate. 4 enchanted, armoured crossbow turrets then came down from the ceiling and began to pepper the room with bolts. To make matters worse further down the corridor what could only be described a a walking crossbow flanked by 2 iron dogs began to advance.

The party decided their best tactic was to smash the turrets and divided in to teams to do this. Nalklyr decided to try to stop the Arbelestor and aimed a precise shot at the contraption. Unfortunately, this seemed to provoke the iron dogs into attack and they charged down the corridor at the drow. Luckily, Garig stood in their path and he was able to intercept on of them, dealing it a mighty blow. The following couple of minutes comprised furious hacking at the turrets whilst Nalkyr and Garig dealt with the dogs and Kalad smashed the arbelester, until finally all the enchanted devices had been destroyed. The group decided to take a short rest before opening the door at the end of the corridor, this gave everyone a chance to gather their thoughts, compose themselves and Grogar the opportunity to pluck several irksome crossbow bolts out of his thick dragon hide!

Monastery of the Sundered Chain

After taking a short rest the Company of the Free resumed their arduous journey to the dwarven monastery. When they finally arrived something didn't feel right. There were no sentries and Nalklyr spied a thin column of smoke rising from within the courtyard. Garig pushed open the 30 foot tall double doors.

Within the courtyard numerous orcs were gathered around campfires eating meat which looked suspiciously like humanoid arms and legs. Upon seeing the party the orcs quickly discarded their repulsive food and charged in to battle. The battle was short and bloody. Ben summoned a great ball of magical fire which engulfed several of the orc drudges whilst Nalklyr dispatched the somewhat tougher scouts before there was any opportunity for them to raise the alarm. Alert of any danger the group entered the monastery proper.

Inside was a shocking site. The room they were in was a vast cathedral. There central point of which was a huge statue in the likeness of the Dwarven god Moradin. However, strewn liberally throughout the bloody corpses of the monks littered the area. Cackling in deranged delight an female orcish witch doctor was smearing entrails and filth on the statue. Nalklyr reacted first launching a crossbow bolt at the old crone. She reacted by summoning the vile power of Gruumsh the despicable god revered by the Orcish race blinding the drow. As the other members of he party moved in to the room to close with the witch their attention was drawn to a balcony behind them. Two orcs were perched upon them aiming impossibly large crossbows. Grogar and Garig sensing the threat peeled off to deal with the bolt throwers.

Nalklyr, blinded by the witch could do little besides retreating and summoning a globe of darkness to mask his presence.

The party's predicament became even worse when emerging from behind the statue appeared a squad of orc drudges commanded by an orc sergeant. Ben reacted quickly to the new threat summoning an shadows grasping at the orcs. Several of the drudges dropped dead on the spot their feeble minds unable to resist the deadly illusion..

Garig closed with the crossbowman and pushed him over the edge of the balcony with a well practised maneuver. Melech descended the stairs to finish it off. Meanwhile on the other balcony Grogar and Nalklyr worked together to rain blows upon the second bolt thrower and he was soon dead. The sergeant and the crone however were closing quickly. Ben flung magical rays ice at each target freezing the creatures and rooting them to the spot. With the bolt throwers dealt with the party was easily able to cut down the last two adversaries.

After securing he area the heroes decided to take make camp in the easily defensible area before investigating the secret stairwell behind the statue.

Once rested they made their way down the spiral staircase as quietly as they could manage. This brought them out into a huge hallway with a series of massive pillars flanking it. It was obviously the sleeping quarters of the monks for a series of small chambers lined each side of the hallway. A massive stone statue of a dwarven hero of old dominated the centre of the room, and the corpses of more of the monks were liberally scattered about the place painting the floors red with their blood. Standing around the room arguing were a variety of orcs, however the party's arrival soon distracted them from their bickering and battle was joined.

As usual Garig bravely launched himself into the largest group of foes, whirling and hacking with his axe. Ben uttered the words of a spell which allowed him to rapidly move down the staircase to help his comrade. Once within the room he summoned a fierce flaming sphere amongst the group of orcs. However, on seeing the lightly armoured wizard isolated, a group of cowardly drudges quickly surrounded him raining blow after blow upon the mage. Nalklyr and Melech ran in to the hallway to help their friend quickly cuting down the rag tag group of orcs.

Meanwhile Garig was swamped by the orcs including a berserker which hefted it massive axe with deadly power. To his rear a number of orog militants were fighting in a more disciplined manner attempting to catch the warrior in a potentially fatal pincer movement. Fortunately, Grogar had spotted the danger. He breathed on the drudges blocking his path, blasting them with electricity. He then issued the divine challenge of Kelemvor on the nearest orog which was enough to disrupt their attack formation. Ben now free from the mob of drudges commanded his flaming sphere to attack the berserker shrouding the ferocious beast in magical fire. Nalklyr moved in to position liming the berserker in darkfire and aiming a precise crossbow bolt into it's back as it's primitive mind struggled to cope with the effect. The flaming sphere then finished the berserker. The remaining orogs were then in disarray and we quickly cut down by the heroes.

After quickly searching the area for anything of value the party headed to the far end of the hallway. The came upon a large platform overlooking perched overlooking a great rocky slope. At the bottom of the slope was another platform. Connecting the two were a series of switchback stairs. Unfortunately, the stairs held more orcs. Three bolt throwers stood poised to loose deadly bolts and a Scarred Orog Champion angrily stomped up the stairs towards the comrades, also flapping above a spiretop drake hovered menacingly.

Thinking better of descending the precarious stairway the group held their position on the uppermost platform. Nalklyr managed to snipe the nearest bolt thrower and Ben hurling several ranged spells taking down most of the drudges. The drake then swooped down upon Ben slicing him with its sharp beak and the remaining bolt throwers returning volleys of crossbow bolts, several of which found their mark and hitting with enough power to stagger the target backwards.

Finally, the Orog reached the top of the stairs where the party stood waiting to shove the great beast off the stairs to a rocky death below.First Ben summoned a wave of thunder energy, but the hardy beast shrugged it off. Then Garig bashed it with his shield and Melech followed with a powerful shove. Although knocked to the ground the Orog managed to cling on to the stairs. He stood up and then launched a powerful sweep of his axe catching Grogar, Garig and Melech in the same hit. Garig dodged the blow however Melech took a grievous wound and even worse the blow was powerful enough top push Grogar off the edge of the platform on to the rocks below.

Enraged by the loss of the paladin the companions tore in to the Orog champion quickly tearing him down. Ben blasted the drake with psychic energy exploding it in mid-air, which left just 2 bolt throwers to deal with. Supported by ranged attacks from Nalklyr and Ben the remaining warriors Grogar and Melech carefully edged their way across the stairs. Meanwhile at the next platform across a gauntleted hand reached above the edge as Grogar heaved himself up on to the platform. Miraculously, the Dragonborn had somehow survived the fall off the platform and was now intent on avenging himself on the remaining bolt thrower. The bolt thrower having used all it's quarrels threw it's crossbow to the ground and charged toward the battered and bruised paladin. The bolt thrower died.

The party quickly searched the bodies of the orcs. The orog wore a suit of stoneborn plate armour which Grogar hastily donned casting his battered, and dented old armour aside. "Let's finish this thing" he said with grisly determination.

A Call to Arms!

After resting at Rivenroar and reflecting on recent deeds. The band broke camp and decided to head to the village of Brindol to return the stolen heirlooms they had recovered back to the Hall of Great Valour. Inspired by the heroic rescue mission they had just completed they also agreed on a name for their band - The Company of the Free.

In the knowledge that the area was crawling with the advance forces of an Orcish war party, not to mention reports of a dracolich - the group elected to take the more arduous route through the mountains.

After a gruelling journey they arrived back at Bodrin's Watch and met up with the Dwarvish commander of the fortress - Captain Forgeheart. He was (by dwarven standards) relieved to see the company make it back. He also explained that the council at Overlook had put out the call for groups of adventurers to help repel the expected Orcish onslaught. The party gallantly decided they should head to Overlook and see what help they can offer.

Upon arriving at Overlook Garig suggested that the erstwhile captives of Rivenroar should be allowed to start a new life in Overlook and that it was the Company's duty to help them. He promptly gave each survivor a number of gold pieces. Nalklyr gave him a questioning look, to which he replied "Freedom counts for nothing if you have no food in your belly, my friend". The grateful rescuees, were profusely grateful and promised the would tell others of the brave and kind Company of the Free, before heading off on their way.

Valthurn and the boy Thurann offered to take the relics from the battle with the Red Hand of Doom to Brindol on the Company's behalf. Valturn explained that the Elsir Consortium often had trade caravans headed that way and they would seek passage on the next one.

The groups first priority was to head to the temple of Kelemvor in the Nine Bells district. Grogar explained that if Kelemvor judged his soul fit, it may be possible to bring Melech back to the realm of the living.

The Nine Bells frequently referred to by many as the Nine Hells did not disappoint. The place was a cesspool of depravity and destitution. Beggers, prostitutes and thieves were commonplace in the squalid district.

As they passed one of many darkened alleyways Nalklyr head a muffled scream, upon further investigation he found to source of the noise. Three guardsmen and two elves stood amongst a group of freshly slain corpses. One of the elves noticed Nalklyr's spying and called out "They've come to us! Kill them!" With that the battle began. The two elves darted off down darkened alleyways whilst the halberd wielding guards charged the heroes. The fighting was furious and one thrust actually knocked Garig to the ground however, he was able to recover quickly and launch a vicious counterattack. The battle seemed to be going well when Nalklyr heard approaching footsteps from an adjacent alley. Investigating, he found one of the Elves attempting to sneak round the back of the party. He loosed a poisoned bolt from his crossbow and invoked a protective cloud of darkness. Undetered the Elf charged past him headed for Quick Ben who had just launched a savage mental assault on the last of the guards which actually blew his head from his shoulders. Suspecting a coordinated attack Grogar headed to the opposite alleyway to intercept the second Elf. Garig headed over to Ben, although the Elf engaging Ben looked weak and close to death as Nalklyr's poison coursed through it's veins. Garig quickly dispatched it and watched in horrid fascination as the creature transmuted in to the pale, featureless form of a doppelganger. Hopelessly outnumbered the remaining "Elf" was cut down quickly. A search of their attackers yielded a scroll, upon which were written the names of several adventuring groups - The Slayers, The Freeriders and the Company of the Free! Also crossed out were the names of the Company of the Hawk, which Ben surmised were the Doppelgangers last victims.

Without further delay the Company headed to the House of the Dead - temple of Kelemvor. Grogar explained he was from the Order of the Scales and was quickly ushered through the halls to the temples senior priest Doomguide Brother Malsar. The priest explained the ritual required to resurrect Melech was complex and taxing and that it was customary for applicants to make a sizable donation to the church for such favours (700 gps) to which the Company readily agreed. Brother Malsar told them to find lodgings and return the following morning.

They found an Inn named Belden's Rest in Tradetown which seemed to be of a reasonable standard. The proprietors were an elderly couple named Rory and Ruth Teng who instantly made the heroes at home serving the house speciality of pressed duck accompanied with a couple of bottles of Luskan red.

Rory explained that the Company of the Free were not the only adventurers in residence this evening and that the Freeriders were also staying at the Inn. Ben insisted that their fellow adventurers must also be warned for they were also on the death list the group had found. They headed up to the Freeriders rooms and were met by their leader Megan Swiftblade, a pretty human with a scar running down the side of her face. Although initially suspicious Megan warmed to Ben and the others and quickly introduced her band. Megan was perturbed by the death list and instructed her party to be extra cautious. Ragnum Dourstone, a dwarvan preist of Moradin and unusually gregarious, suggested the two groups share several tankards of ale and swap adventuring tales. Having struck up a rapport with the band the offer was accepted and they drank and talked until the early hours.

The following day the Company headed back to the House of the Dead to find out whether Doomguide Malsar's ritual had been successful. They were elated when they were greeted by Melech who although he seemed a little shaken from his ordeal, stood living and breathing before their very eyes! Grogar thanked the Preist and his offered prayers to Kelemvor for the miracle which had been granted.

With some time to kill the Company decided to take in the sights of Overlook before the meeting with the Council in the evening. They decided to puruse the shops of Overlook hunting down any magic items for sale. The first stop was the Dungeoneers Survival Emporium an outfitters run by Myra Edgerton a "voluptuous" half elf. Ben had heard rumours that if one flirted with her then she had a secret cache of magic items which she surreptitiously sold. His efforts of flattery were flatly rebuffed and Grogar interceded. The charismatic Dragonborn immediately captured Myra's attention and she promised Grogar for the price of a meal at the swanky Turned Spoon she would let him view her "special wares"! Grogar swallowed hard before gallantly accepting the half elf's proposal. She then took him down into her cellar and showed him the items she had for sale. Grogar made a note of the items and their cost and returned to the rest of the group after arranging an evening rendezvous with Myra.

Their next visit took them to Stonehome Treasures run by a human merchant named Mikal Rensfield. His wares comprised of weapons, armour and other finely crafted items, however the parties main interest was in his stock of magic items. Sadly all they could really afford were 3 potions of healing which they duly paid for, before leaving the shop.

Their final stop was Merty's a gaudy shop, run by a cocky but not unlikable halfling named Riley Swiftoe specializing in magic items, ritual components and alchemical reagents. Riley proudly proclaimed that although his prices were high, his items were the best and moreover if his customers had any custom requests he employed a gnome articifer to satisfy any such requirements. Promising they would come back when they had acquired more coin, Ben bought some ritual components and they exited the shop.

After exploring the sights of Tradetown the Company decided to head to the seat of the city's council Caer Overlook in the central High Hall district. On the way they bumped in to the Freeriders, and the approached the impressive edifice which served as the venue for Overlook's government. There they were escorted by the dwarvan guards thorough a myriad of highly polished and many statued corridors to a central audience chamber. Upon a dais sat the 5 dwarven elders which made up Overlook's ruling council. Also milling around the room were several other adventuring groups who had also answered the call. One such group were the Farstriders which were famed as the bravest party in the area having recently slain a black dragon. There leader a famous Warlord by the name of Edgar Sommerfield strode over to the Company of the Free and arrogantly asked who in the Nine Hell's they thought they were. Garig quickly retorted with a few cutting insults of his own. However, the fracas was soon silenced when Elder Cadrick stood up to address the assembled groups:

"Welcome to High Hall friends. I am Elder Cadrick. I don’t much see the point in bandying words, so I’ll lay it out for you. War is upon us. A great host of orcs comes from the west. Their intention is clear. They will come through the mountains bent on slaughter. Those they spare can look
forward to a short life of slavery. Overlook, and Bodrin’s Watch in the mountains, have long held fast against these raids, but our scouts say never has such an army gathered. Thus, we turn to you brave souls to help defend not only Overlook, but also all Vale. When the orcs arrive, we’re certain they will come up through the pass. We know this because already there have been attacks from the tunnels below, compromising the fastness. The defenders have fought back the savages, but it’s clear the rest are coming and fast. So here’s the plan. Durkik Bronzegilder will lead the militias and most of you to bolster Bodrin’s Watch. Orc trailblazers infest the tunnels below, so we’ve tasked their security to the Farstriders. One more mission remains, though. We need a group to evacuate the monastery on the other side of the mountains. It’s dangerous work, what with the orcs and all, but priests need a warning of what’s coming if they don’t know already. Do we have any volunteers?"

All stood silent other than the Company of the Free who accepted the dangerous mission without a second thought. Edgar Sommerfield his face crimson with rage yelled "Need I remind the council of our previous agreement". Elder Cadrick gave the Warlord a placating look and a nod, then moved to speak to the Company of the Free. "This is brave and dangerous work, my friends. The Monastery of the Sundered Chain lies further up in the mountains and the journey will be arduous and who knows what creatures you may encounter. Seek out the leader of the order a Paladin named Kalad. For this task we will pay 1000 gold. May Moradin give you all the strength you need to complete your quest."

Megan Swiftblade and the rest of the Freeriders came over to wish the party well and promised to meet up again once the Orcish invasion had been repelled.

With no time to lose the Company headed out on their quest. Grogar with a small measure of relief quickly called to see Myra before they departed and explain he would not be able to keep their appointment. Although deflated, Myra said she was proud her hero was embarking on such a brave mission with which she hugged the embarrassed Paladin and planted a kiss on him. She made Grogar promise to keep their tryst when he returned from his quest.

The journey to the Monastery of the Sundered Chain was indeed perilous, the terrain was unyielding an more than one of the group picked up injuries along the way. The group reached a rocky shelf. Grogar volunteered to climb up to the next ledge and drop down a rope for his companions. Unfortunately halfway up the steep slope his handhold crumbled away and he tumbled back to the lower ledge twisting his ankle in the process. As he tentatively got up onto his feet again his eyes went wide with alarm. Ghouls!

Emerging from a cave entrance ahead a group of 5 ghouls came tearing onto the ledge at frightning speed. Within seconds the undead abominations were upon them. Seeking to ake advantage of the terrain Ben summoned an almighty clap of thunder and blasted a group of 3 of the beasts. The first of them was flung off the edge of the cliff to certain death, the next barely managed to cling on to the edge of the cliff and the third managed to completely dodge the blast.

However, the fight was far from over. The remaining ghoul clawed Ben who immediately became paralyse by the creatures foul necrotic energy. Beset by another of the ghouls Nalklyr summoned a cloud of darkness, hoping to cover his escape to a more tactically advantageous position. Alas, it was not to be - as he dodged through the battlefield a ghoul raked him with a claw which rooted him to the spot. Grogar launched at his nearest assailant summoning the power of Kelemvor to obliterate the undead aberrations and the creature racked in pain at the touch of Grogar's holy blade. Garig exploded in to life, his first attack swung his axe through the belly of a ghoul and cut in to a second with the follow through he then maneuvered into the centre of the pack of ghouls and swung his axe in a mightly circular sweep catching 3 of the beasts with the same attack.

Nalklyr and Ben however were in a desperate position. The ghouls paralyzing attacks had left them unable to maintain a safe distance and the ghouls savagely bit in to their exposed flesh leaving the pair of them in total shock. Melech, seeing that he battle was swinging back in to their adversaries favour, took control. "I didn't return from the arms of death to fall prey to a bunch of undead scavengers! Steel thyself wizard, these monstrosities are no match for the Company of the Free!" He then entered the fray kicking one ghoul out of the way before slicing a second with his magical longsword. Melech stirring words seem to shake Ben out of his shocked state and brought him back in to the battle. He launched another powerful wave of thunder at the ghouls pushing one of them off he cliff ledge to a grisly death.

Grogar could see Nalklyr was in a serious condition. Still in a state a shock and bleeding profusely he invoked the power of Kelemvor to challenge Nalklyr's assailant, then used his self sacrificing lay on hands ability to help restore his friend's health and finally launched in to the ghoul which a deadly hack of his fullblade severing the creatures head.

With that the tide of battle had swung back to the heroes and the remaining ghouls were quickly dispatched. They decided to take a short rest before continuing their arduous journey to the monastery.