Kilranthia - Leaving the hidden city.

[a2ndchapter]

This is a write-up from a new D&D game I've just started running, first time in about 6 years I've ran D&D and it's a refreshing return. Comments appreciated.

Our intrepid heroes left Kilranthia for the first time and entered into the unknown...

They are -
Link Azoth - A rogue who is more comfortable in the dark and alone than anywhere else.
Reno Day - A ranger who has mastered the art of bowmaking and is a scout of repute.
Josef Gaits - A rogue/fighter who has a sense of purpose in exploring and seeking justice.
Maximus - The Half-Orc barbarian who's actions are stronger than his words.
Sar'ainn Rans - A Half-Elf (although his ears are hidden by the bandana he wears) fighter who is as keen with a blade as he is his wit.
Jaret - A cleric, exiled from the cold north as a child he has found solace amongst the teachings of Chaos and Good.

Crossing that boundary through the Pass of Orm the party sense the trees close behind them preventing any last minute change of mind. Descending the mountain path to the scrub land below they notice that it is snowing. It wasn't snowing in Kilranthia...

One of the party discovered a scroll in their saddle bags that wasn't there before, it was scroll from Krace. In that scroll Krace detailed some history about himself, those heroes who are believed dead and of Weston the villain. Most shocking was that Weston and Krace are brothers, something he has hidden from all within Kilranthia except The Seers. After reading the scroll became blank and Krace gave them instructions to use the scroll for communication with him and The Seers, it would be their guide if necessary...

Krace had suggested they visit Rondenhelm, a former military outpost which was a trading village last he was there. Of course things may not be the same now...

Approaching Rondenhelm Reno spotted a wagon on fire from a distance. Approaching carefully our heroes find a confusing situation. 1 dead Human with a lizard emblem on his armour and 2 dead Orcs with 7 pointed stars on their armour. What was clear though was that the Orcs were the wagon owners and the Humans were the raiders. At least 2 other sets of tracks were identifiable with the Humans riding away to the North and one set of small footprints followed by a larger set heading towards the woods around Rondenhelm.

Following those tracks to the woods our heroes were fired upon by an Orc youth sat upon a tree. After much deliberation and conversation to assure the Orc that they were not there to kill him, Gurnek (the 9 year old Orc) agreed to come down. Link scouted further into the woods following the other tracks to hear the sound of a sword fight. Alerting the others, they found 2 humans fighting. One was wearing the Lizard marked armour while the other, who was clearly winning, was in simpler armour with Hammer marking on it.

After assisting to stop the fight our heroes learned that the man with the Hammer marking was named Laverna and was Captain of the guard who were posted at Rondenhelm. The other man was a bandit, according to Laverna and would be taken into custody. Laverna also said that he recognised Gurnek and would take him into Rondenhelm.

Entering Rondenhelm with Laverna the party discovered some information about the locals.

The city to the south, Varnburg, is planning expansion into this region.
The Lord of Rondenhelm is related to the Lord of Varnburg and his family are quite powerful.
There is an underlying feeling of xenophobia amongst the people of Rondenhelm and presumably Varnburg.
Gurnek is missing.
The bandit is also missing.
Link stole the Lord's armour - full plate and largely ceremonial but has the mark of the hammer on it.
The Lord stated that his emblem (the hammer) was from a history of miners in his family. This however did not appear to be true.
The armoury store keeper mentioned that the trouble from the North was primarily from bandits although there were rumours of an army of Lizard Men.
Whilst onsite there was an arrival of 60 horsemen in full armour - the guard change for Rondenhelm apparently. Although this wasn't expected for a few weeks...

Leaving Rondenhelm after realising that they could gather no further information safely they headed east towards the River of Orm. Crossing the bridge they entered what appeared to be a Druid's Grove, although it hadn't been used for some time - Reno estimated between 2 and 4 years... The standing stones within the grove had what turned out to be Dwarven runes - most unusual.

Camping for the night and taking turns on watch both Sar'ainn and Link experienced nightmares, the only memory of them was FIRE.

Continuing their exploration east they came across a cave entrance which had recent tracks in and out. Reno couldn't tell what they were but they were not human. Entering they found a winding path which ended up in what appeared to be a room made by dwarves, judging by the quality of the work. Whilst travelling through the cave structure Josef found a longsword which appeared to be magical but didn't know it's powers; Reno found a roll of cloth bound by what looked like some cord however this was sealed with magic and they were yet to unravel it. They also found 2 gold figurines of Elven women - one of the figurines depicted an Elf killing an Orc.

When standing in the room fashioned by dwarves they noticed markings on the wall. One was a sword, another a 7 pointed star and the last was of a hammer. Josef decided to "plug in" the sword and the room became instantly brighter. They left through the only door available and found themselves outside with tracks similar to those at the entrance, apparently made by Lizardmen.

As they left the dwarven room something was wrong. Sar'ainn and Link began to feel burning and in an instant Link disappeared. Sar'ainn remained but his hands were slightly burned...

Now our heroes have a mystery...

What is the meaning of the room with the 7 Pointed Star, the Hammer and the Sword?
What are the powers of the sword that Josef found and how does it fit into the meaning of that room?
What is in that wrapped bundle Reno has and what is the significance of the figurines?
Why are there humans with Lizard emblems on their armour? What is the truth around the Lizardmen to the North?
What happened to Gurnek the child Orc who was rescued but disappeared in Rondenhelm? Where was that bandit taken?
What really happened to the Dwarves who were based at Rondenhelm at the time of the Battle of Vurlan Hall? Why does the Druidic Grove have Dwarven markings?
What is the expansion that the Lord suggested of the peoples from Varnburg in the South?
But most of all what was happening to Sar'ainn and what had happened to Link?

 

[a2ndchapter]

Part 2

It began with the disappearance of a friend and the meeting of an old one.

Link's disappearance left our companions confused and disturbed, none more so than Sar'ainn who's hands were scarred but felt no pain.
Arriving at the disused farm outside of the caves Reno identified the tracks as being primarily Lizardfolk and that they had passed within the past 2 days. Almost hidden amongst those tracks was a set of boot prints, and they hadn't left...
Approaching the barn they heard a voice from the levels above, it was Victor Valedenian a former student of Krace's from Kilranthia who had left 2 years prior under mysterious circumstances. After recognising Sar'ainn and Josef, Victor descended to join his companions. Sharing what knowledge he had at that time, it was clear that the Lizardfolk were expanding south and quickly. Josef and Victor discussed his sword with the Dwarven runes, which Victor could read. It said "War Of Ages" in reverse, which was not only odd but made little sense.

Our party split up - Josef and Sar'ainn headed back to Rondenhelm with the intention of finding out what happened to Gurnek. While the others; Reno, Victor, Jaret and Maxamus, headed along the road to the North through the mountain pass.

Travelling back through the caves Josef & Sar'ainn were met by some of the horsemen from Rondenhelm who reported that they were scouting the area and that the bridge was closed to all traffic for repairs. Unable to determine whether this was the truth or not they started to head towards the forest to the South before heading back towards the caves to find out more information on what the horsemen were up to. It appears that Varnburg has brought it's expansion plans forward and they are not limited to Rondehelm itself, indeed the region as a whole is in their sights. Travelling back through the caves with the horsemen they headed East to where they had arranged to meet with their companions. When asked where they were going Josef and Sar'ainn learned of a trading post to the North but decided to continue East as arranged previously.

Heading North, Reno became aware of figures on the mountain ridges overhead. Continuing along the path whilst watching carefully they were surprised when 2 arrows, 1 from each side, flew past them. Reno reacted quickly and let fly an arrow which struck one of their assailants before a cry came from above. An Elf shouted down to them and soon the near-combat was over through dialogue. These Elves were unlike any they had heard of before, they had adjusted to living in the mountainous terrain and left their forests and woods. Although they wouldn't speak too much of this it was clear that the Lizardfolk were behind it. Receiving guidance they were escorted to the Elven camp, and sent a message via the Elves to contact their companions. Arriving at the camp they were surprised to find the Elves in a warlike mood, something these peace loving people were not comfortable with themselves. Speaking with their leader, known simply as The Seer, they learned of several things and were surprised to find that The Seer was not an Elf but was Human. The news The Seer had was of special interest to Victor; Neolar, the Wizard who he had lived with for the past year or so, was under attack by the Lizardfolk. He believed he could hold them off buy had sent word to The Seer to see if he had heard or seen Victor. The Seer also reported that there was a trading village to the North of their present location but that the Lizardfolk had been seen advancing in that direction. At this point Reno decided that the information they had was too confusing and decided to unravel the bundle he had found in the caves. The magical seal electrocuted him, albeit mildly, and with was a parchment written in Dwarven. Victor read it, being the only one capable of reading Dwarven, and it made mention of a castle to the South East where the Dwarves had resided and also made mention of Hyr, one of the fallen heroes.

They made contact again with their companions and they all met up at the castle, although Victor's mind was distracted with the news of Neolar he knew he would be safe for now.

Arriving at the castle they found it in pristeen condition, as though it had been built recently. Crossing the moat and passing through the entrance they found within a deserted area with what appeared to be temples surrounding another building. Approaching the building they heard a voice say "I AM THE PROTECTOR, WHO GOES THERE" and it appeared to be coming from all around them. Josef decided to walk toward the middle building, almost a mini replica of the external castle itself and was thrown backwards by an invisible force. What became apparent was that the PROTECTOR was a guardian of some form placed by persons unknown to guard the castle. It was also clear that the PROTECTOR was in some way linked with Hyr, and knew of the fates of his companions. Inside the mini-castle they found a glass coffin with what appeared to be Hyr's body and his axe perfectly preserved, leaving this alone they descended into the depths below the mini-castle. Within the cavern below they found another glass case containing a hammer matching the design on the wall in the caves near the farm. Unsure how to retrieve it they spoke with the PROTECTOR but found it was limited in language, however they did learn the following.

Kelan is dead although how he died is unknown, as is what happened to his body.
Jero betrayed them and joined with Weston, however it isn't clear whether he still lives.
Hyr is dead, and his body was returned to a Dwarven castle where his spirit was bound to The Protector.
Manibo's location is unknown and mystery surrounds him.
Chaktalla is dead, although mystery remains around his death.
Nerobi LIVES but is hidden. Link is also hidden, however whether they are together is unclear but they are in the same place.
It is suspected that Weston has joined forces with a Demon to further his goals. Information is limited however on the identity of this demon...
Krace will never leave Kilranthia.
The Dwarves built this place before they were cleansed.
The fort at Rondenhelm may have underground passages.
Kelan's shield - The Falling Star - may be the third symbol from that room in the caves near the farm. Although why would Orcs have it as their emblem?
Josef's sword was recognised by the PROTECTOR as once belonging to Kelan, however it said that the sword was sleeping.

After some discussion and debate Victor and Jaret called upon divine guidance which led to Jaret claiming the hammer - his hand passing through the case as though it was air.
The hammer's powers were unclear at that time however once removed the castle and it's surroundings started to decay rapidly.

Travelling swiftly to the east after leaving the castle they arrived at Neolar's tower to find it safe and undamaged. Neolar explained that his barrier had protected him, and that it was simply foot soldiers the Lizardfolk had sent, next time they may have wizards...

He examined the hammer and revealed it to be the Hammer of Terdur which belonged to a Dwarven hero at the time of the Battle of Vurlan Hall, the weapon is intelligent and refers to itself as The Protector. Josef's sword however he could tell nothing more of other than to say it had a partner and may not awaken until it was rejoined with it. Neolar also stated that Kelan's shield is rumoured to be in the North West past the trading post they had heard of, he suggests that the link between the Falling Star and the Orc's may not be as simple as first thought.

After speaking with Neolar the party head north to follow the Lizardfolk. Catching up with them the party find the northern trading postlooted and burning. There were approx 1500 Lizardfolk gathered there, some riding large Lizards of unknown species.

They all headed for the river to the East to begin to work their way around the Lizardfolk and then continue to the North. It was only then that they realised Reno and Jaret were missing, they were last seen heading in the opposite direction with Reno muttering to himself about Orcs and the Falling Star. They had no way of tracking them and it was clear now that the party was split once more...