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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ralts Bloodthorne" data-source="post: 2539832" data-attributes="member: 6390">If you're playing in this game, and you know who you are, take your pron peepers somewhere else. I'm sure there's some interesting articles in General Discussion you take part in.-TimThe Gathering Storm Chapter Two: HordehymnsSetting: This takes place in my homebrew world of Shtar. Those of you who purchased Arcane Strife will recognise the name, as well as some of the spells/PrC's/feats and arcane burn used within this setting. While the flavor text for Arcane Burn was set after the Second Lich King War, these events transpire in a few scant years prior to the Second Lich King War.The adventuring party is in a well maintained manor south by southwest of the Seven Sisters Kingdom, after the bard Zargo Gravecaller sung the so far incomplete magnum opus of Electulu before the Queen Mother herself, earning the bard and her companions the priveledge of perusing the Queen Mother's personal library within the Azure Palace.There, they found not only six of the remaining pages of the magnum opus, entitled the Winter Princess, but a deed to a manor deeded to Electulu of the Brass Flute. Journeying to the manor, they found it to be in immaculate condition, with luxurious furniture over two centuries old, with wine still fresh in the glasses and magical servants waiting on any guests who entered.Inside, in a lavishly decorated study, they discovered the last pages of the magnum opus, as well as the calligraphied and illuminated scene's for the opera, and the cover page with chilling words of what had only been a suspicion.To my my beloved and soul mate: Pliazli. Know your Queen has always loved you best of all.This had proven that Electulu, before her assassination by a rare, expensive, and nearly unknown venom, had been a Wraithkiller Queen. That explained the previously unknown Wraithkillers that had been dodging the group's steps the entire time.With trembling hands, Zargo took the recovered pages into the parlor and put them together, her fiance and lover Cornelious, blackguard, duke, and commander of the 32nd Stygian Hammer watched as she arranged the pages in the proper order.There was a soft glow, a burst of purple light and tinkling sound. The edges of the manuscript now bore illumination and the scenes moved to show the proper placement and steps.However, Cornelious' tattoos across his forearms and around his colorbones burst into cold, pale light, and a voice commanded "Rise and Serve. Gather at the Red City." Only one being, one creature, thought to be long dead or imprisoned, had the power to activate those tattoos, to call to arms all the soldiers of the Stygian Wave, both living and dead, and order them to a rally point.The feared undead knight Gor DuMay, the Blossom of Death himself.The game restarts with a recap of the events, a roll call for the characters present, and reminders of what is going on.I plan to let the characters know that they might not be alone, by telling them that there is a fully cooked breakfast, with one serving eaten out of it, of Ash Falcon eggs and naka bacon, that was not in the kitchen the night before, and that a crossbow bolt with an intricately carved snake skeleton, topped with a human skull with long flowing hair, is on the table.Pliazli's calling card should get them out of there quickly, probably right after Carstavius leaves.The Red City is 10 days ride south by southwest, over the Destiny River (so named because this river was where the gnomish god had the idea of ships after his people were gypped during the chosing of lands) and into the edge of the Plains of Blood (a huge natural wheat field. The wheat is heavy in beta-carotine, giving it a reddish hue. When viewed from the air, it's a reddish color, reminding an ancient explorer of blood. Oh, and two early armies battled upon it for 2 years, soaking the land in blood, and only where the war raged did the wheat grow)So, I plan on having them go to the Red City. They will undoubtably want to follow Cornelious, since he's the tanker of the group (A Stygian Infantry specialized in close quarters combat and the snap lance) and nobility. Plus, Zargo will probably want to follow her husband to be, and the Spiritbinder will NOT want to miss a chance to see a regrouping of the Stygian Wave.So, once in the Red City, upon rejoining other soldiers of the Stygian Wave, Cornelious will get his orders. Take the meddling bard, her friends, and recover the dragons left behind from the Lich King War.(A little background here: In the closing days of the Lich King War, the armies were leaderless and had been fighting for centuries. Sheer hatred could keep the fighting going, and indeed, the Armies of Light had already ground themselves to mutual ahnillation against the Lich King Armies and the Army of IV's Will. The Dragon Corps of the Iron Legion and the Stygian Wave were mostly intact (if you consider only 40% survivors being mostly intact) and worse yet, many of the dragonesses had become gravid and heavy with eggs.Realizing only mutual death lay in continual fighting, and that distrust, even among honorable foes, would only result in more fighting, each commander agreed to exchange dragons, dragon riders, and dragon keepers. The commander and his subordinates would oversee the locking away of the gravid dragons and any other dragon under thier command.Siezing the vast wealth that each army had gathered, and turning it over to the other commander, the commanders locked away the dragons in secret locations, held in statis and surrounded by magical and mundane defenses. The trick was, each race could only be unlocked by a creature of the opposite alignment, and no dragon could awaken untiil all the seals were broken.THIS is why there are so few dragons on Shtar prior to the Second Lich King War, even though history tells of hundreds of dragons engaged in mortal combat over fury locked battlefields.)--END HISTORY LESSONThe party's newest goal? Open the dragon vaults, release the dragons to fly once more.But, while enroute to the Red City, I plan on having them attacked by some members of the Followers of Silence, a fanatical cult that seeks to destroy all recorded songs, operas, poetry, etc.</blockquote>

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