The following is based on a module Sanackranib and I are working on right now. In order to suit my campaign (and to include the ToA module) I have changed things slightly.
Our story begins during the Divine War of Scarn, that terrible event that affected every single creature that called it home, but it wasnt only the mortals that were affected as many more Gods died during that terrible conflict than even Hedrada will admit to as you will soon learn.
The events you are about to read took place several years before the end of the Divine War.
Thyr and Muir were Twins. Son and Daughter to Madriel the Redeemer and the Shining One, Corean. They were so close to one another that they even shared worshippers, and many temples were dedicated to both their names. Life was pleasant for their followers, but nothing good lasts forever.
They died as they had lived, side by side, at the hands of Kadum the Mountainshaker who threw their remains far into what would, ironically, be named after the Great Beast himself, The Blood Sea.
Their followers, devastated by the loss, refused to relinquish their faith in their beloved Deities, going as far as refusing Madriels and Coreans offers of succor. Hope was wraught anew when their High Priest, Abysthor, claimed he had been visited by them in a vision and that once he had completed their Divine Quest their Glory would be restored. He was never seen again.
Many worshippers followed him, but could not brave the corrupted halls he had entered since their desecration at the hands of worshippers of Demon Lords who had taken advantage of the conflict by smuggling in their own servants unnoticed.
His failure was marked as the final end to the Twins, and their names have become forgotten, their priesthood, dead.
Some years after this Fraelhia, The Snow Queen, was tasked by both Corean and Madriel to cleanse the halls Abysthor had entered of the foul spawn that now infested it. Grudgingly she accepted, and gifted her followers with an Artifact called the Orb of Storms. This item would considerably lower the temperature of the region, forcing the invaders to either perish or leave.
Her followers failed, and the Orb was rendered dormant through powerful wards and magics.
The Divine War ended and much that should not have been forgotten, was. Within a few years a small village was founded close to the halls and was named Bolthaven. The people lived there as peacfully as the raiding Orcs allowed and soon even the Divine War faded from memory and became legend.
This stayed almost idylic until the wife of the local butcher, a woman called Lorelianna, found out that she was barren. Devastated at the news there was no consoling her, she prayed to every God she thought would answer, but the answer she recieved came from a most unexpected source. Mormo - Queen of Witches gave her the means to make her dreams come true, but at a terrible price.
To have a child, she must sacrifice one in Mormos name.
Appalled at this, she refused, but for years the knowledge clawed away at her until finally she could resist no more. The victim would be her own nephew.
She had everything arranged, and was on the verge of completing the ritual Mormo had sent her through dreams when her Brother and his wife discovered them.
Cursing Bolthaven name and swearing revenge, she barely escaped from the town with her life and fled north, where, presumably she died at the hands of the marauding Orc tribes.
Ten years have passed, and she is all but forgotten. A new evil has stricken Bolthaven however, the winter has not ended. Indeed it has lasted many months longer than usual, and the towns children are disappearing one by one. The towns folk have once again started to whisper Loreliannas name and in hushed tones they remember her oath of revenge upon the town.
Lorelianna is indeed back, and for revenge, but also for something more. In her long exile she has since become an Ice Hag and has been shown in dreams the Artifact that lies imprisoned within the halls of two dead and forgotten Gods.
Her covey want this Artifact, and Lorelianna wants revenge, if she has her way she will get the child she has always wanted, indeed, she will get ALL the children.
Down below the surface, the Tsathar are freezing to death. The Orbs wards are weakened and Lokaug was not present when they were instituted initially, in order to secure his plans and keep those damned Disciples of Orcus from overrunning him he will need to find someone, something that is able to repair the wards.
Perhaps there will be someone on the surface that can accomplish this.....
Cast of Characters NPCs of Bolthaven
Lorelianna Dru 4/Sor 6 Half-Elven Ice Hag- The Hag is fortunate indeed, not only does she get the opportuinity to retrieve a Godspawned Artifact, but she also gets to fulfill her oath of revenge on the townsfolk that drove her away all those years ago. First things first however, the Burial Halls must be breached, yet she does not have the resources or capability to do it on her own. Having only just arrived in the area, she is very pleasantly surprised at the weather conditions, a truly inspiring show of power from the Orb, and has not had time to start her vendetta against Bolthaven, which means she is not aware that her vendetta has started without her. Patience is something she has learned though, and perhaps the newcomers could be put to good use.
Duranod Clr 9/Wiz3 Charduni Dwarf- A stranger in a strange land, this Charduni has been a resident of Bolthaven for about six years. Sent to spy on the Cordrada Corridor, he has done so dutifully for all that time, and is sick of it. He is also sick of Bolthaven and its sorry excuse for villagers, more than once has he had to teach the nosy children where their place is and more than once has he had to defend himself from the villagers anger because of it. For some reason that he has yet to fathom, Bolthaven "Mayor", Imelia Farnham, has refused to have him run out of town, indeed she seems to have defended him on every occasion, which worries him.
Recently he came upon a superb idea at relieving his boredom, after hearing about the tale of Lorelianna he Communed With his Lord Chardun and asked of him the questions required to preceed with his plan. Once these questions had been answered he approached the House Asuras agent that brought the towns supplies about it, and when he accepted, Durando finalised his preparations.
It is the Charduni that is kidnapping the children and having the halfling merchant sell them to pirates in Mithril. He is relying on the townspeoples fears of Lorelianna to steer their suspicion in that direction and it seems to be working. Those people who are foolish enough to get in his way are killed, leaving no marks on their body (Inflict spells) and then doused in water (to emulate an Ice hags frosty breat weapon). The change in weather has surprised him and made him cautious. Could this be the work of the hag? And if it is, what will she do when she finds out what has been going on?
Ranald Emernese Exp 3 Halfling - A thoroughly wicked little creature, Ranald, bored with his position in House Asuras and wanting to better his financial position, has made a deal with Duranod to sell Bolthavens children to pirates in Mithril. He didnt have much of a choice actually, as Duranod made it quite clear that a refusal could not be accepted.
The only thing about this he doesnt like it having to go to Mithril to conclude the trade, luckily he knows the right people and how much it costs to have them look the other way. He does not know, nor does he care, how the Charduni intends to get away with it, all he wants is money and this is quite a lucrative business. At the moment he is currently on his way back from Mithril having just closed another transaction with the pirates.
Imelia Farnham Ari 4 Human - Imelias position of Mayor is unlike most, it is hereditary with her father having the position before her, his father having it before him and so on. This does not make her a bad Mayor, but it does blinker her eyesight sometimes, such as with the Charduni.
In a town full of married couples and no eligible bachelors, who else is there to turn to in order for her to provide the town, and indeed herself, with an heir to the Mayoral position.
Although she has, for the sake of her infatuation, allowed the Charduni more leeway than most can expect, she does not suspect him of being behind the recent events. She has tried to send word to Mithril, but noone has returned, and the town is now without its Priest, Eron Turonville, as he headed south saying that he had been shown the cause of their troubles and was going to put and end to them personally. She is becoming desperate and is contemplating leaving for Mithril herself before the townsfolks need for revenge ends in the lynching of an innocent party, Loreliannas husband, Rama.
Rama Com 1 Human - Being the husband of a murderess and Titan worshipper has not been easy for Rama, indeed, if he could have afforded it he would have movd away years ago, but he is, like the rest of Bolthavens populace, poor and as such has no where alse to go.
Living with the grief and guilt of those terrible events has made him a hard and bitter man, no longer trusted by his neighbours and teased by the children, he could also become a suspect in the recent dissapearances and he knows this. He is innocent however and the weather is frightening him just as much as the thought of his wife coming back, he did after all betray her. The Hells hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Horato Male Moon Hagling - This evil little creature has been adopted by Loreliana after he was chased away by his former "Mother" some years ago. He has come to dote upon her and sees her own Haglings (of which she has 6) as serious competition for her affections. If he can he will rid himself of them during this little expedition and frame some hapless innocent for the crimes.
Day 1
While travelling south down the Cordrada Corridor, they spot thick clouds on the horizon. As they approach they realise it is storm clouds and that it is a snow storm they are witnessing, being that its several months since winter they find this odd, but continue nonetheless.
After 5 minutes of suffering the storm they see something fall from the sky and thump into the cobbled road infront of them, investigating, they discover it is infact a small boy with ice white skin and white hair, they also see a small black shape flying away from the area in a north westerly direction. This is Horatos first victim, one of Loreliannas Haglings.
After some discussion they decide to head north west for a while to see if they can figure out what happened and after a couple of minutes travel they find a snowcovered sign post to a town called Bolthaven. More discussion follows and it is decided that they could wait out the storm in the town and possibly find out the identity of the child, so they head off, following the lit signposts.
The reception they recieve at the towns drinking house, The Golden Gryphon, is as frosty as the weather outside, indeed by the time they have finished their own drink they are the only ones still remaining within the establishment.
It doesnt take them long to realise all is not well with the town (apart from the freak weather) and a short conversation with Fanim, the owner, confirms their suspicions that something more than just bad weather is plagueing this town. News of their arrival spreads through town and soon Imelia turns up to investigate, ever hopefull that these are the help she has asked of Mithril. She is most disappointed when she finds out that they are not and breaks down infront of them. After some consoling and smooth talking the party manage to glean from her the towns dirty secret and the events of the last few months.
Disturbed by what they hear they decide to help and investigate. Their first stop is the husband Rama, who they find locked securely within his house. Upon entering they notice that one corner of his room is filled with brocken, old wood which seems to have been there for some time and an Owl takes wing from his rear window, headed south. The owl is Loreliannas Familiar, which she has sent to keep an eye on the town and Rama while she investigates the burial halls . They learn that his brother-inlaws son was Loreliannas victim and that it was his twin sister that was the first to disappear about 6 months ago and also that the Priest, after recieving a vision, left the town 2 weeks ago headed south, saying that he was going to rid Bolthaven of the evil himself.
The discussions visibly tires Rama and he asks them to leave, Salter decides to investigate the Temple while Lia goes off to talk with Loreliannas brother, Daecam. Jig asks Rama if they could possibly use his barn to stable the horses and Rama agrees.
Salter finds the Temple locked, and once inside, desecrated. Not wanting to spend much more time in there, he quickly searches the Vestry and finds a note Eron left, detailing his trek south to confront the Evil that is plaguing the town. On his way back to Ramas he notices the Charduni for the first time but decides not to approach him just yet.
Lia meanwhile has an interesting chat with Daecam, who rants on about how he would like rid of Rama and that noone believes his excuses about not knowing the shrine in their house was dedicated to Mormo. He also suggests that Lorelianna may not be behind the kidnappings as he has heard things about the Charduni and Imelia that has made him wonder.
They meet back up in Ramas and they inform one another of what they have found. Lia questions Rama on the shrine, and he tells them thatthe pile of wood in the corner is what is left of it and that for years it was a shrine to Imal Wheatsheaf, and that it only changed when Lorelianna was run out of town. He still does not understand how she could have disguised it, and knows several townspeople want rid of him, or worse.
They then settle down for the night, only to be awoken in the small hours by the sound of battle and loud bellowing cries. They rush outside towards the noise and see several pale, hunched figures, dressed in white furs, engaging the Mayors bodyguards on the south road just before the town limits. Lorelianna, in an attempt to get the newcomers to the burial halls has sent some of her followers and minions to attack the town from the south, making the PCs think that this is where they are coming from and corroberating Erons story about an Evil in the south.
A vicious batte ensues, with Lia almost falling under the blows of several Ice Haunts and Ice Ghouls, but the PCs and the town emerge victorious. Stunned by the display of power from the strangers, the townsfolk look upon them with an earned respect and Imelia congratulates them on a job well done.
(more to come)
Our story begins during the Divine War of Scarn, that terrible event that affected every single creature that called it home, but it wasnt only the mortals that were affected as many more Gods died during that terrible conflict than even Hedrada will admit to as you will soon learn.
The events you are about to read took place several years before the end of the Divine War.
Thyr and Muir were Twins. Son and Daughter to Madriel the Redeemer and the Shining One, Corean. They were so close to one another that they even shared worshippers, and many temples were dedicated to both their names. Life was pleasant for their followers, but nothing good lasts forever.
They died as they had lived, side by side, at the hands of Kadum the Mountainshaker who threw their remains far into what would, ironically, be named after the Great Beast himself, The Blood Sea.
Their followers, devastated by the loss, refused to relinquish their faith in their beloved Deities, going as far as refusing Madriels and Coreans offers of succor. Hope was wraught anew when their High Priest, Abysthor, claimed he had been visited by them in a vision and that once he had completed their Divine Quest their Glory would be restored. He was never seen again.
Many worshippers followed him, but could not brave the corrupted halls he had entered since their desecration at the hands of worshippers of Demon Lords who had taken advantage of the conflict by smuggling in their own servants unnoticed.
His failure was marked as the final end to the Twins, and their names have become forgotten, their priesthood, dead.
Some years after this Fraelhia, The Snow Queen, was tasked by both Corean and Madriel to cleanse the halls Abysthor had entered of the foul spawn that now infested it. Grudgingly she accepted, and gifted her followers with an Artifact called the Orb of Storms. This item would considerably lower the temperature of the region, forcing the invaders to either perish or leave.
Her followers failed, and the Orb was rendered dormant through powerful wards and magics.
The Divine War ended and much that should not have been forgotten, was. Within a few years a small village was founded close to the halls and was named Bolthaven. The people lived there as peacfully as the raiding Orcs allowed and soon even the Divine War faded from memory and became legend.
This stayed almost idylic until the wife of the local butcher, a woman called Lorelianna, found out that she was barren. Devastated at the news there was no consoling her, she prayed to every God she thought would answer, but the answer she recieved came from a most unexpected source. Mormo - Queen of Witches gave her the means to make her dreams come true, but at a terrible price.
To have a child, she must sacrifice one in Mormos name.
Appalled at this, she refused, but for years the knowledge clawed away at her until finally she could resist no more. The victim would be her own nephew.
She had everything arranged, and was on the verge of completing the ritual Mormo had sent her through dreams when her Brother and his wife discovered them.
Cursing Bolthaven name and swearing revenge, she barely escaped from the town with her life and fled north, where, presumably she died at the hands of the marauding Orc tribes.
Ten years have passed, and she is all but forgotten. A new evil has stricken Bolthaven however, the winter has not ended. Indeed it has lasted many months longer than usual, and the towns children are disappearing one by one. The towns folk have once again started to whisper Loreliannas name and in hushed tones they remember her oath of revenge upon the town.
Lorelianna is indeed back, and for revenge, but also for something more. In her long exile she has since become an Ice Hag and has been shown in dreams the Artifact that lies imprisoned within the halls of two dead and forgotten Gods.
Her covey want this Artifact, and Lorelianna wants revenge, if she has her way she will get the child she has always wanted, indeed, she will get ALL the children.
Down below the surface, the Tsathar are freezing to death. The Orbs wards are weakened and Lokaug was not present when they were instituted initially, in order to secure his plans and keep those damned Disciples of Orcus from overrunning him he will need to find someone, something that is able to repair the wards.
Perhaps there will be someone on the surface that can accomplish this.....
Cast of Characters NPCs of Bolthaven
Lorelianna Dru 4/Sor 6 Half-Elven Ice Hag- The Hag is fortunate indeed, not only does she get the opportuinity to retrieve a Godspawned Artifact, but she also gets to fulfill her oath of revenge on the townsfolk that drove her away all those years ago. First things first however, the Burial Halls must be breached, yet she does not have the resources or capability to do it on her own. Having only just arrived in the area, she is very pleasantly surprised at the weather conditions, a truly inspiring show of power from the Orb, and has not had time to start her vendetta against Bolthaven, which means she is not aware that her vendetta has started without her. Patience is something she has learned though, and perhaps the newcomers could be put to good use.
Duranod Clr 9/Wiz3 Charduni Dwarf- A stranger in a strange land, this Charduni has been a resident of Bolthaven for about six years. Sent to spy on the Cordrada Corridor, he has done so dutifully for all that time, and is sick of it. He is also sick of Bolthaven and its sorry excuse for villagers, more than once has he had to teach the nosy children where their place is and more than once has he had to defend himself from the villagers anger because of it. For some reason that he has yet to fathom, Bolthaven "Mayor", Imelia Farnham, has refused to have him run out of town, indeed she seems to have defended him on every occasion, which worries him.
Recently he came upon a superb idea at relieving his boredom, after hearing about the tale of Lorelianna he Communed With his Lord Chardun and asked of him the questions required to preceed with his plan. Once these questions had been answered he approached the House Asuras agent that brought the towns supplies about it, and when he accepted, Durando finalised his preparations.
It is the Charduni that is kidnapping the children and having the halfling merchant sell them to pirates in Mithril. He is relying on the townspeoples fears of Lorelianna to steer their suspicion in that direction and it seems to be working. Those people who are foolish enough to get in his way are killed, leaving no marks on their body (Inflict spells) and then doused in water (to emulate an Ice hags frosty breat weapon). The change in weather has surprised him and made him cautious. Could this be the work of the hag? And if it is, what will she do when she finds out what has been going on?
Ranald Emernese Exp 3 Halfling - A thoroughly wicked little creature, Ranald, bored with his position in House Asuras and wanting to better his financial position, has made a deal with Duranod to sell Bolthavens children to pirates in Mithril. He didnt have much of a choice actually, as Duranod made it quite clear that a refusal could not be accepted.
The only thing about this he doesnt like it having to go to Mithril to conclude the trade, luckily he knows the right people and how much it costs to have them look the other way. He does not know, nor does he care, how the Charduni intends to get away with it, all he wants is money and this is quite a lucrative business. At the moment he is currently on his way back from Mithril having just closed another transaction with the pirates.
Imelia Farnham Ari 4 Human - Imelias position of Mayor is unlike most, it is hereditary with her father having the position before her, his father having it before him and so on. This does not make her a bad Mayor, but it does blinker her eyesight sometimes, such as with the Charduni.
In a town full of married couples and no eligible bachelors, who else is there to turn to in order for her to provide the town, and indeed herself, with an heir to the Mayoral position.
Although she has, for the sake of her infatuation, allowed the Charduni more leeway than most can expect, she does not suspect him of being behind the recent events. She has tried to send word to Mithril, but noone has returned, and the town is now without its Priest, Eron Turonville, as he headed south saying that he had been shown the cause of their troubles and was going to put and end to them personally. She is becoming desperate and is contemplating leaving for Mithril herself before the townsfolks need for revenge ends in the lynching of an innocent party, Loreliannas husband, Rama.
Rama Com 1 Human - Being the husband of a murderess and Titan worshipper has not been easy for Rama, indeed, if he could have afforded it he would have movd away years ago, but he is, like the rest of Bolthavens populace, poor and as such has no where alse to go.
Living with the grief and guilt of those terrible events has made him a hard and bitter man, no longer trusted by his neighbours and teased by the children, he could also become a suspect in the recent dissapearances and he knows this. He is innocent however and the weather is frightening him just as much as the thought of his wife coming back, he did after all betray her. The Hells hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Horato Male Moon Hagling - This evil little creature has been adopted by Loreliana after he was chased away by his former "Mother" some years ago. He has come to dote upon her and sees her own Haglings (of which she has 6) as serious competition for her affections. If he can he will rid himself of them during this little expedition and frame some hapless innocent for the crimes.
Day 1
While travelling south down the Cordrada Corridor, they spot thick clouds on the horizon. As they approach they realise it is storm clouds and that it is a snow storm they are witnessing, being that its several months since winter they find this odd, but continue nonetheless.
After 5 minutes of suffering the storm they see something fall from the sky and thump into the cobbled road infront of them, investigating, they discover it is infact a small boy with ice white skin and white hair, they also see a small black shape flying away from the area in a north westerly direction. This is Horatos first victim, one of Loreliannas Haglings.
After some discussion they decide to head north west for a while to see if they can figure out what happened and after a couple of minutes travel they find a snowcovered sign post to a town called Bolthaven. More discussion follows and it is decided that they could wait out the storm in the town and possibly find out the identity of the child, so they head off, following the lit signposts.
The reception they recieve at the towns drinking house, The Golden Gryphon, is as frosty as the weather outside, indeed by the time they have finished their own drink they are the only ones still remaining within the establishment.
It doesnt take them long to realise all is not well with the town (apart from the freak weather) and a short conversation with Fanim, the owner, confirms their suspicions that something more than just bad weather is plagueing this town. News of their arrival spreads through town and soon Imelia turns up to investigate, ever hopefull that these are the help she has asked of Mithril. She is most disappointed when she finds out that they are not and breaks down infront of them. After some consoling and smooth talking the party manage to glean from her the towns dirty secret and the events of the last few months.
Disturbed by what they hear they decide to help and investigate. Their first stop is the husband Rama, who they find locked securely within his house. Upon entering they notice that one corner of his room is filled with brocken, old wood which seems to have been there for some time and an Owl takes wing from his rear window, headed south. The owl is Loreliannas Familiar, which she has sent to keep an eye on the town and Rama while she investigates the burial halls . They learn that his brother-inlaws son was Loreliannas victim and that it was his twin sister that was the first to disappear about 6 months ago and also that the Priest, after recieving a vision, left the town 2 weeks ago headed south, saying that he was going to rid Bolthaven of the evil himself.
The discussions visibly tires Rama and he asks them to leave, Salter decides to investigate the Temple while Lia goes off to talk with Loreliannas brother, Daecam. Jig asks Rama if they could possibly use his barn to stable the horses and Rama agrees.
Salter finds the Temple locked, and once inside, desecrated. Not wanting to spend much more time in there, he quickly searches the Vestry and finds a note Eron left, detailing his trek south to confront the Evil that is plaguing the town. On his way back to Ramas he notices the Charduni for the first time but decides not to approach him just yet.
Lia meanwhile has an interesting chat with Daecam, who rants on about how he would like rid of Rama and that noone believes his excuses about not knowing the shrine in their house was dedicated to Mormo. He also suggests that Lorelianna may not be behind the kidnappings as he has heard things about the Charduni and Imelia that has made him wonder.
They meet back up in Ramas and they inform one another of what they have found. Lia questions Rama on the shrine, and he tells them thatthe pile of wood in the corner is what is left of it and that for years it was a shrine to Imal Wheatsheaf, and that it only changed when Lorelianna was run out of town. He still does not understand how she could have disguised it, and knows several townspeople want rid of him, or worse.
They then settle down for the night, only to be awoken in the small hours by the sound of battle and loud bellowing cries. They rush outside towards the noise and see several pale, hunched figures, dressed in white furs, engaging the Mayors bodyguards on the south road just before the town limits. Lorelianna, in an attempt to get the newcomers to the burial halls has sent some of her followers and minions to attack the town from the south, making the PCs think that this is where they are coming from and corroberating Erons story about an Evil in the south.
A vicious batte ensues, with Lia almost falling under the blows of several Ice Haunts and Ice Ghouls, but the PCs and the town emerge victorious. Stunned by the display of power from the strangers, the townsfolk look upon them with an earned respect and Imelia congratulates them on a job well done.
(more to come)
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