Here's the Epilogue that I promised. It contains a goodly number of inside jokes, many of which were references to events of the campaign itself. I hope you enjoy hearing what came after.
EPILOGUE
Tadius Silvanus walked down the hillside with a gaggle of his youngest students clustered around his feet. “Come this way, children. There’s somebody special who is going to give your lesson for today.” The group made their way to the base of the hill where a thin copse of oaks stood along the banks of the Fodor. Their eyes adjusted to the shade after a few moments and they saw a large feline form dozing in the summer breeze. Dapples of sunshine made their way through the leaves above and played across the silvered flanks of the cat.
One of the students, a young girl, gasped, “It’s Uthreld!”
“It is indeed,” said Tadius gleefully. “He’s here today to give you a bit of a history lesson about the end of the Blood War and the years after that.”
Uthreld, opened his eyes and a feline smile crept across his face. “Come closer children. I don’t wish to yell. Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” The cluster of children gathered around and took their places near the Dire Mountain Lion.
“You’ve all probably heard the legends from your parents and grandparents, but I’m here to tell you the story my way. I was there and I saw what happened. And I saw what happened after…
In the days immediately following the defeat of Bale, the defenders of Hrongar’s Hill went far and wide to try and hunt down the remains of his army. The Duergar of Do’Kun-Ghul were among the largest groups but they agreed to withdraw peacefully back to the Black Peaks and their city beneath the mountains. This truce was facilitated by the Great Druid, Speaks With Stone and Rhys.”
“You mean Prince Rhys of Sythia?” asked one of the boys.
“The very one. But he wasn’t ‘Prince Rhys’ back in those days. And, in fact, he was considered a criminal in Sythia at the time. But that’s a story for another day.
The Dwarves of the Stone Tooth Clan were loathe to see their enemies get away like this but their numbers were few in those days and they were exhausted from their march from the Stone Tooth all the way to Hrongar’s Hill in only five days. Instead, they hunted Trolls along the banks of the Fodor, driving them into the river and out of our lands.
Along with the Trolls, many of the Ogres fled eastward into the Darkwood. That’s one of the reasons that it remains so dangerous to venture there. There is rumored to be a city in the far north of the Darkwood ruled by the Ogre Lords and their Gnollish minions. But they stay well north of the Oakwash and keep vigil along the southern slopes of the Pillars of Heaven, always watching for signs of the Dark Druids.
Most of the rest of Bale’s Army of Blood was destroyed although the Neoghi and their Umber Hulk slaves managed to escape underground and make their way westward where they still haunt the slopes of the Black Peaks. The others were hunted down and slain by the remaining defenders of Hrongar’s Hill.
Once it became apparent that Bale and his army were no longer a threat, the Imperials quickly turned south toward home where they hoped to aid the other Legions in driving the Orcs from their country. They were accompanied by Lazarius of Aquae Sulis who they say slew three hundred Orcs by himself at the battle of Hadria. He stayed for a short time in the Empire before he returned back to the north to join his companions on their journey back into the Blackpeaks.
It was a few weeks after the Blood Battle of Hrongar’s Hill that the Heroes went north again to the City of Endless Summer. There they fought against the servants of Bane, the Banelar and their undead minions. They killed a dozen of the foul worshipers of the Imprisoned One and destroyed hundreds of their unliving servants. Scar of Fenhold and the remaining Orcs who had helped defend Hrongar’s Hill destroyed the altars and symbols of Bane scattered throughout the City of Endless Summer. When the last of these symbols was destroyed, the volcano that held the City erupted in a tremendous blast. The Heroes barely escaped with their lives, thanks to a timely warning and some Teleportation magic by Lazarius of Aquae Sulis. When the ground started to heave and tremble, he called out to his companions, “Albatross, Albatross, ALBATROSS!!!”
One of the children let out a chuckle, “So THAT’S where that saying comes from.”
“Indeed. Since the day that tale was told, it has become commonplace for those who desperately wish to escape from a situation to use the phrase, ‘Albatross, Albatross, Albatross’.
After that, the Heroes began to drift apart and go their separate ways. Marcus, Holy Warrior of St. Cuthbert, vanished completely for a short while. He was taken to Celestia by The Shining Lady and honored by St. Cuthbert himself. He was saddened to learn that St. Capito never saw the shores of Celestia as his soul was destroyed by the Black Mace of Bale. Capito was canonized however and of course the Inquisitors of St. Cuthbert were renamed The Order of St. Capito. Doubtlessly you’ve seen them on their pilgrimages to The Shrine.
And, as I’m sure you know, Marcus was appointed the Steward of the Shrine of Stone. He still lives there today with his wife, Ilsa of the Corritani…”
“She’s so pretty,” blurted out one of the girls.
“Indeed she is child, although you should have seen her in her youth. She was like a celestial come to earth. They say that when she was born, she was touched by the gods and has glowed from inside ever since. Marcus fell in love with her the moment her light touched his eyes. Some of his friends say that it was only his love for her that could keep him in one place rather than scouring the Blackpeaks for any remnants of the followers of Bane or Bale.
He has not lacked for excitement though. You probably know that there have been two attempts by the followers of Bane to remove the Bloodstone Blade from where it sits, lodged in Bale’s belly. The Shield of the Steward kept them at bay long enough for Marcus and the Brigante Guardians of the Shrine to send them to see their god’s prison though. For a man of nearly 60, the Steward’s mace is still able to send most Cultists to Hell with a single stroke.
I think the day is soon coming when Marcus will pass the Shield on to another. His son, Lucius, has spent years doing what his father could not, ranging throughout the north and battling the Evil of the Blackpeaks where it lives rather than waiting for it to emerge again. There is talk that the Stewardship may pass from father to son.
Lazarius of Aquae Sulis was seen sporadically in the weeks after they returned from the City of Endless Summer. People say that he would appear every few days with bulging sacks of coins from all over the world, some of them dating back centuries. He shared this wealth with the other Heroes though he also spent princely sums on ale and whor…um, entertainment. He disappeared from Emor and was not seen for months after that.
Then one day, he came soaring over the treetops at the edge of Aquae Sulis, seated upon an enormous throne that floated in mid air. A large tower stands there and it was the home of a man by the name of Nacalius. Lazarius is said to have dropped three enormous sacks of gold outside the door and then unleashed a hail of lighting into the forest surrounding the place. Nacalius accepted Lazarius’ offer to purchase the tower almost immediately and that is where Lazarius of Aquae Sulis lives to this day.
Lazarius and your master are good friends and I’m sure you’re familiar with some of the body of work that the Wizard of Aquae Sulis has produced over the years. Lazarius’ Lavishly Large Lightning Lash and Greater Stoneskin That Doesn’t Cost So Much are fairly widespread at this point. I also hear tell that he is working on a powerful transportation spell called Teleportation Without Planar Translocation Complication after he rather flippantly jaunted out of Speaks’ grove and found himself trapped in the Spirit Realm for a few weeks.
With a small fortune in hand, Marius Blackblade made his way to Oar and sailed across the Crescent Sea back to the Empire. The days after the Orc War were dark and chaotic in the Empire. Not since the Slave Wars nearly one hundred and fifty years ago had the lands of Emor seen such turmoil.
The frail Emperor Dartalus II, finally died and the succession by his son, Flavius, was disputed by a group of Senators led by a Senator Gracchus. He made scathing accusations that Flavius’ incompetence and hunger for personal glory had led him on adventures in the north where he sought to attack, without provocation, the peoples of the Fodor, with whom the Empire was just starting to have profitable trade relations. This lust for power and glory had left the Empire defenseless against the invasion by the Orcs and cost the lives of thousands, indeed, very nearly causing the total collapse of the Empire.
It was into this political turmoil that Marius Blackblade returned when he arrived in Emor. He was quickly elevated to the status of “Personal Advisor” to Senator Gracchus. He informed Gracchus that he had it on good authority that those who allied themselves with that attack on the northlands, which was clearly the unholy inspiration of the evil brothers Bane and Bale, would suffer “the wrath of the gods”. This premonition proved true when a number of Senators who still favored Flavius died horribly while giving speeches in his support. Those present at their deaths said it was as though, all of a sudden, these men were covered from head to foot with a hundred slashes.
The final blow to the ascendancy of Flavius was when his closest supporter, Pontius was found dead. Investigators said that he was ritually sacrificed to Bane by his very own wife. A short time later, his wife, Solvaria, was hunted down and killed by Marius Blackblade. Her head was laid before the Imperial Senate the same day that Emperor Gracchus was crowned.
They say that Marius Blackblade hunted down dozens of Demons and Devils that had helped the Empire against the Orcs but refused to return to Hell when their duty was done. They also say that he infiltrated and destroyed at least two sects of the Cult of Bane that were still operating in Emor. It is almost impossible to say how much of this was true. His name was spoken in whispers and he soon became surrounded by legends. It was said that he wielded a Demon for a sword and his consort was a Devil who walked the lands of men at her leisure. Nobody knows whether he still lives or not. But once in a while, a body will turn up, killed by a single dagger thrust. And that person will almost always be found out to have been a supporter of Bane.
As for Cathal Godslayer, he stayed a while in the lands of the Brigantes and hunted the Neoghi in the Blackpeaks alongside Seshmarl, the great chief of the Allmani. But he found himself ill at ease within his tribe. His people were in awe of him and few could speak to him directly. What does one say to a man who has slain a god?
He went south along with Scar and they organized a group of defenders to take over the fortifications abandoned by the Imperials at what is now Fenhold. He used his renown to shield his people from the avarice of the Empire. “I have traded blows with Bale. I live and his stone corpse stands where I slew him. If you wish to take the lands of the Fodor, you first face me.”
As I’m sure you are aware, no attempt to land so much as a single legionnaire has taken place since Cathal’s proclamation. Fenhold rapidly grew into a prosperous trading town as the tribes of the Fodor began to trade their goods up and down the river rather than the long, overland route through Glynden and Oar. It soon became a target for the few corsairs that remained upon the Crescent Sea.
When the pirates attacked, they were met at the docks of Fenhold by a “statue come to life”. The corsairs were defeated and their captains captured. A week later, both of the surviving pirate captains were dragged, kicking and screaming, into the surf by a man made of iron. He held them beneath the waves until they had succumbed to the ocean and strode out of the sea leaving their bodies to the crabs. The folk of Fenhold sleep well at night knowing that Cathal Godslayer, Iron Protector of the Fodor stands ready to defend them.
That leaves my friend, Speaks With Stone, Great Druid of the Fodor. After his return from the north Speaks visited his friend, Great Root of the Darkwood. Great Root had been tutoring many of the animals who Speaks had Awakened in the days before the Blood Battle. They were learning the Druid ways in order to become the defenders of the Darkwood.
Speaks found that he had few ties to Glynden any more and, after saying goodbye to his friends, Kyndalyn and Father Tomas, he left his grove near there in the capable paws of Jitterbug, the wisest of the wolves whom Great Root had trained. The crops near Glynden thrived and grew with supernatural abundance. And if the occasional sheep went missing, nobody complained about it too much.
Speaks returned west across the Fodor and found a number of people waiting for him. The shamans of the Corritani and Nervii wanted him to teach them the ways of the Druids that they might shepherd their people, even without the guidance of the Spirits of the Land. There were also those among the other tribes who wanted to learn what he had to teach. With the blessing of Feather In Flight, head of the Order of Druids in Emor, Speaks formally broke ties with his old master and began his teachings in the north.
He founded a new grove in the deep forests of the Suevi lands. The new chieftain of the Suevi liked having him close by. After all, I would never have been more than an animal had it not been for him.
Not long after he had founded his new grove and begun to accept students, a very special student arrived from the west. Orthula of the Suevi returned to us with her son, Ormgar. Speaks With Stone adopted the boy like he was his very own. I was never more proud than the day when I officiated their wedding.
And here, all these years later, the two of them look almost the same. Their students have aged and certainly I have, but they seem to be steady as an old oak. Thankfully their son grew older and with age became a great warrior and leader in his own right.
As a matter of fact, that’s what brings me here to Tadius’ school along the Fodor. I’ve just abdicated my position as Chieftain of the Suevi and Ormgar has taken over. I’ve got a few good years left in me yet and I always thought I might make a good Wizard.
So, children, I guess I’m your newest classmate…”
