Where we been?

The Worldwound and The Ruins of Drezen

You are arriving from the east along the Ahari Riverbed

Harris Fairclaw Templar at Large

The lower road was blocked, several trees had snapped and fallen from the cliff side running along the upper road.  The army was stopped in its tracks until the front unit finished clearing the way and Harris was stuck hiding in a small ridge alongside the cliff.  When the call to halt was sounded, Harris thought that he had been spotted by the paladin caller that rode through announcing “all stop”.   Luckily the paladin rode on without any reaction and Harris had made it to his current place of hiding.  

Harris Fairclaw

Harris almost screamed when the woman’s voice spoke from very close behind him, “The only reason you’re alive right now is I might have a use for you.”  Despite the threatening words, Harris recognized his fellow Templar’s voice, relaxed slightly and responded, “May in death I be reborn from the wound of our world, my soul returned from the maze of the abyss.”  Harris turned to face the pint-sized woman. 

The Halfling woman explained“I spotted you yesterday but had to be sure it was you.  The army isn’t going anywhere today, tonight I’ll get you into camp.  Another templar is with us but needs to travel to several locations on the upper road.  We’ll get you to his tent and then the two of you can travel ahead of us.  You’re lucky, there are horses and supplies.” 

Harris Fairclaw considered sharing his information with the her but decided she wasn’t near important enough to share with…perhaps this other Templar who had infiltrated the army.

Harris Fairclaw- Templar of the Ivory Labyrinth

Harris Fairclaw

Harris Fairclaw was well hid from the Queen’s army of paladins.  From his perch in the stone tree he had a fairly good view of most of the rank n file.  Harris had followed crusaders when they departed Kenabres, having witnessed the army’s arrival and departure.  

The demon worshiping Templar knew that every day that went by without his getting the information into the right hands decreased its value.  For Harris, the right hands were the hands that would reward him the most.   The Templar needed to get ahead of the army without being noticed so he could cross Vilareth Ford and travel ahead to Drezen.  If Harris got there in time to warn Staunton of the threat headed the dwarfs way, he might finally be rewarded with the powers and prestige he so richly deserves.

Exorius Receives a Message

Umestil

Umestil stood on the cliff's edge overlooking Vilareth Ford, his tiefling soldiers below celebrating victory over the contingent of crusaders stationed there.  They had caught the crusaders by surprise and now his army held the northern most entry across the West Sellen River that lead into the Worldwound. 

The tieflings were mounting the defeated crusader's heads and entrails on the eastern shore of the West Sellen as a warning to any other crusaders that dared attempt entry into the Worldwound.

Umestil concentrated, picturing the Incubus Commander Exorius, the magical energies teleporting the Brimorak demon to Keeper's Canyon so that he could tell his commander of the army's success under his brilliant leadership. 

Exorius

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Dramatis Personæ 1

Khorramzadeh

Areelu Vorlesh

                                                           

Aravashnial

Anevia Tirabade

Irabeth Tirabade

             

Horgus Gwerm

Sosiel Vaenic

               

Aron Kir

Nurah Dendiwhar

     













                                                                                                                                                                               

Epitor

Staunton Vhane

Corbo 

Queen Galfrey's Speech

Queen Galfrey

“While there are some narrow-minded souls among the crusade who blame you for the destruction of the wardstone border, I do not begrudge you for what you did. Far from it. From the sound of it, you saved entire legions of crusaders from a most vile fate by preventing Vorlesh from transforming them, and the blast of energy gave us the time we needed to regroup and prepare for what will certainly come next. But you understand the implications of what you’ve done, I’m sure—the wardstones are gone, but Iomedae has seen fit that you will be their replacement. I can think of no other reason that would explain why their power would have settled in your bodies and souls and didn’t merely fade into the ether. In time, the demons will regroup and reorganize—we can trust their inherent chaos to make this period of regrouping longer than it otherwise would take, but we shouldn’t underestimate them. They’ll be back soon enough. Already I’ve had reports from along the front lines that small groups of demons are attacking fortifications and settlements along the southern border.
But what intrigues me most is news from several reliable sources that as our fiendish enemies are starting to mass in the southern reaches along the Riftshadow within the Worldwound, they have left several of their northern lairs relatively unprotected.

Aponavicius

In particular, the fiend Aponavicius has taken the bulk of her army from Drezen, leaving it only moderately protected as she joins with the Storm King in Iz to, no doubt, plot greater attacks on larger targets like Nerosyan, Karcau, and beyond. The time is right to strike into their territory. Drezen was the first of our cities to fall after the First Crusade, and we lost more than our kin and our pride that day. We lost the Sword of Valor, a magical banner carried by the Inheritor herself during the Shining Crusade. If Drezen could be retaken—if the Sword of Valor could once again be held by the crusade... well, I trust I don’t need to explain how well that would affect morale. But with the imminent attacks along the border, I cannot spare many to lead an assault on Drezen. And even if I could, a large army attacking the city would only draw Aponavicius back to defend the place.

The obvious tactic is to send in a group of capable heroes with a modest but well-trained army to strike now, while the proverbial iron is hot. And this is why I’ve sought you out. If you can retake Drezen and reclaim the Sword of Valor, not only will you silence the fools who would brand you traitors for destroying the wardstone, but more importantly, you would bolster the entire war effort with your heroism. And I fear we need all the bolstering we can get!