Adventures in the Uncivilized Lands

[Loonook]

Prelude to Adventure: The Galaxy of the Crimson Star Guild, and the Rise of the Ku'Kol

The Uncivilized... the elemental wastes of an repairing world... hazardous for the most hearty amongst the adventuring guilds of the land... but perhaps there are some that stalk those lands. Hermits, beasts who worship forgotten fallen gods, and scavengers rule the day in these lands... no true law and order can be found.

Enter the Crimson Star. Scavangers and followers of Order, the Galaxy of the Crimson Star Guild is filled with hundreds of wanderers who have mastered the repair and binding of the great 'techmancy' that washes into the Lands after the frequent time-storms. Even now, the Crimson Star have outposts much farther than any other beings have explored, and their kind bring around a law system to the untamed lands. There are those who would like to keep the Lands as they are... the Priests of the Nameless, the enormous Guln, and the wanderers who walk the sifting land and stare into the blood red skies of this harsh clime.

Even now, the largest threat to the imperialistic Crimson Star has been brought forward: Ku'Kol, an ancient brood, have begun to walk the Lands again after a long time of hiding beneath all things. There are those who feel that the Crimson Star have tainted the lands with their Techmancy, awakening a beast who has summoned the Ku'Kol back to their Lands... others feel that the very Gods feel that the Crimson Star's hope for supreme Order goes against the wills of the Four, and seek only to stay away from the battles between gods and men. The Crimson Star are not a segregated Guild, as many are in the lands of G'esh... all races, from those not born of this plane to the Poin, the rulers of the Great Kingdoms, are given to the service of the Star.

The sky burns with fury and cold calculation.. some say the land lives as much as any planar being in this place. Maybe it is true... but none wish to know the Truth here unless it will save them from their fate in this land of exileds.

 

[Loonook]

Enter the Heroes:

(Currently level 3)

Hydwen: Paladin. Insane. Sword. Not a good combination, right? Well... its not. But when you need someone with you that can help your party, this guy is who you wanna party with (played by Ceredhion)

Umger: a Dwarf who prays to the God of Fire, War, and Wine of this plane, a forgotten deity known as Woldan. Prime... but he holds authority with the very symbol of respect from his deity: the Crimson Rose: the blessed weapon of his deity. (played by Umger)

Locke: An aristocrat, diplomat, and thief... Locke is a rogue who has master the rapier. He excels in getting the party out of tight spots (played by Wolvorine)

Arethul Lothen: An acerbic wit trapped in the body of a masterful fighter. Arethul is the type of warrior that any warrior wants to be: Powerful, charming, soft and cutting whenever need be. (Played by Falex)


Part 1: (Starting Members: Umger, Locke, Hydwen)

The Guild took us in... and we acquainted a Poin by the name of Et'Kien'Poi (First Brother Poi, for those keeping track). He was a transitionist, one who helped the Primes (those who were not born of this plane) feel welcomed and knowledgable. The Crimson Star were going to set out for Reivale, the only true City in the Lands... we rested for a few hours, and awoke to alurums...

The Camp was under attack... Pale Riders and large beasts with hair like iron wire ran through the streets... the combat leaders of the Crimson Star, the Spheremasters [Who use great techmancic devices that come to their bidding) rushed to the attack... Locke was almost slain in the first attack, left by the rest after a debate. A great alarm behind, and the group dodged out of the way just in time not to be crushed by a great horseless seige engine they refer to as the Grinder The battle was still hot, and the group rushed in... 10 Crimson star regulars, including one riding on a steel horse, ran with the party into battle... where they met a Pale Rider. The Rider blew half of the group back with a powerful surge of energy, and Ku'Kol rushed in... it was then that the beasts were named... those beasts who spewed the fire that burned Hydwen and Umger... the group fought with a vengeance... but all was lost in time. Riding out on the Grinder, the remnants of the camp went to Reivale... to the Crimson Star base at the Gray Widow Tavern.

It was only a short time until then... when they met Arethul Lothen. A man who loves the finer things in life, Arethul had decided to drink his cares away and grab a room... but alas, when you are that intoxicated... things happen. Not usually as bad as catching a drunk guard with his youthful (and married) lady love; but it may just occur. The cards seemed to be up for our drunk hero... he battled it out, then laid a punch to the groin that knocked the brute out of the game. Leaving the tavern, the three members saw the lad attacked by a group of drunken guard angry over their friend's loss... after a time of boxing, pommel-striking, and tossing, the three members found their newest member and had laid the guards down... except for one, but a little coercion goes a long way.

A lady of the shadows approached our brave men here... and asked them for information on the incident between the Crimson Star and the Pale Riders. After a time of scanning by a Mind-reading creature who had been summoned for the task, the party learned the truth: the Hui Dal, banished from G'esh for all time, had returned somehow... it was announced at the breakfast of the Temple of Palde M'ka (where the lady of shadows had taken them) that the Poin of the outlands were at war... and our heroes were to be diplomats to earn aid of the Western Empire...

That is, of course, a tale for another day... Chapter 1: Closed!

 

[Loonook]

In Ostaria, the power lies in two central groups: the Legion of Guilds and the Ostarian Empire. The Empire's power is only as strong as the loyalty of its people; the coffers of the Empire have been emptied by civil war and lavish expenditures. The Legion of Guilds, however, holds the power of the worker and the wealth of the empire in its hands. One must truly make both sides work with each other to bring about any kind of temporary peace; and that is where our heroes come in.

During their stay in the capital of Ostarnauch, the heroes brought about a treaty committing the emperor to 10 000 horseman and a small amount of equipment. It came down to the Legion of the Guilds, and a meeting was arranged by those who wished to bring about peace.

The Legion set our heroes to a task that seemed absurd: the Legion, having assisted a nation of creatures known as the Taln in clearing out a large cave complex below the mountains near the capital, needed the Taln to pay their debt in full. The debt was seemingly small in the eyes of the guild, but in Ostaria, principle and honor are two key factors in all matters public and private.

The Legion brought into service two soldiers (who would be left in the Taln Warrens for insubordination), and a skilled warrior named Njal. Njal, a master of the guantlet-blade style of the Ostarian Rose, is a master of tactics and worldly manners. Njal was to be the contact between the Taln and the Primes, allowing negotiations to go through smoothly with the supposedly xenophobic Taln.

Upon entering the cavern complex, the party noted the utter smoothness of the walls. Njal explained the fact that some of the caves were made by ancient Poin rulers as storehouses. On the descent into the caverns, the party found a set of bones that had been formed into a set of chimes. Their eerie creaking unnerved the party, and Njal identified them as a Hui Dal contraption. After touching the chimes, Locke was assaulted while smoke filled the small tunnel. Creatures with sapphire-glowing eyes launched into a frenzy, leaving Locke at death's door. The group dispatched one of the pair of chain-wielding beasts, and the other started to speak in tongues as it retreated far into the distance. Hydwen rushed ahead, and fell through a cleverly-concealed pitfall. His mount was almost killed, breaking three of its legs and hurling its rider into a pit. Hydwen was luckily not badly injured, as a thick layer of moss broke his fall. The rest rushed forward to find the second vile beast clinging to the wall. One of the guards flung a bag of flaming powder at the creature, as the other attempted an attack. Umger threw his axe at the creature, only to watch it plummet down the chasm. After several attacks with bows and thrown weapons (including a rock thrown by the weakened Locke), the beast disappated into a blue smoke. A rope was lowered to Hydwen, but due to his mount's condition the party was forced to climb down.

The Paladin then returned up when Umger had done all that he could, and the party encountered a man wearing a loose-fitting gray cloak and a holy symbol of a door with a silver eye drawn upon it. This man explained he was a gatekeeper, and gave his name as T'ysch. Njal commented that, for being a Neschval, T'ysch had no right to worship any Poin deity. This was met with questioning looks and a long argument: the Party understood that the Neschval are dishonored Poin who are accepted as inferior to any other Poin. Prejudiced comments led to a hand-to-hand battle between the priest and the fighter, which the fighter lost.

Dishonored by the 'Slave', the fighter had thought himself unworthy of his title, and told the Primes of the plight of a dishonored Poin warrior. Such a warrior is cast from his house, and hunted to the ends of the earth by his fellow warriors. The Ostarian Rose is notorious for such tactics, and thus Njal began to fear for his life.

The Primes met with an elder of the Temple (known as the Temple of the Ancient Gate) of their encounter with demonic creatures above. The Elder explained that these creatures, which he referred to as Spawn, are products of a pact between a creature of G'esh and a Dormi. These pacts, if broken by the mortal, allow the Dormi to take the body of the creature... a very valuable tool. The party saw a Spawn who kept its contract, a female Gatekeeper who had traded her eyes for the ability of postcognition.

The Elder gave the party a staff that, if the Taln could not pay their debt, would be suitable for a prize to the Legion. The Party travelled onward after almost a week of rest, until they came to the Walls of the Taln Warrens. The plight of the Taln people was explained in great detail to the party; the lack of adequate food and water, and constant attacks by Primes who wanted to steal what meager supplies they had. The Party agreed to pay the debt of the Taln for them, and rode onto the capital. On their way they found a portable altar to the 4 Poinish Deities known as the Auton, and one of their horses was lost in an accident far away from any healing ability.

The Party returned to the Legion with the staff, and the trade was deemed acceptable. Njal decided to stay with the party as a valuable asset, but reminded the party that the Legion was not to be trusted: its powers were varied and large, and could be dangerous if they ever turned against the party.

Session 2: Closed