Twenty Years After

Scribe Notes

Summary

Adventure: Twenty Years After

• aka: Dark Memories & Silken Threads

GM: Martin
Season: Winter 826 WK
Night: Wednesday
Level: Medium Well Done

Party

• Silken aka Lady Dark - Female Human E&E, and courtesan of considerable repute - played by Fi
• Axis - Male (formerly Human) Silver Dragon and E&E - played by Greg G
• Amber the Witch - Female Elven broom-riding Witch - played by Jo
• Lysander - Female Elven OG "Namer with big sword" (and wings) - played by Avette
• Mary-M - Female Halfling Namer "the smallest Seraph" - played by Helen C
• Dramus - Fey Prince and sometime Necromancer - played by Mandos
• Mario - Male Human Mind Mage Lothario - played by Dean

Time on adventure

tbc 826 WK to tbc 826 WK

Employer

Jocelyn, Urielite Bishop of Seagate.

Potential for additional employers

Mission

tbd

Pay

Probably

Scribe Notes

These notes are written by different party members. Some of them may be an accurate of events but, on the whole, I (Lysander Treeborne, first scribe) suggest you take them with a grain of salt.

Party (in alphabetical order)

Amber

Witch and dealer of white-hot pain to up to 7 targets (hopefully not party members). She rides a broom and sometimes wears a pointy hat. She assures me she has no warts, but she does have a metallic hawk familiar.

Axel Wagon Mage (Axis)

Lizard wizard (and now actual lizard) – owner of a hoard and some very pungent scallions – and larks. As self-effacing and mildly shambolic as ever

Dramus

your guess is as good as mine, but he brings his own inn, pixies and skeletal hand – and is tragically tall. Somehow, he appears to be a necromancer and a mind mage (shudder). Oh, and appears more fae than elf.

Mario

ridiculously good-looking human mind mage and purveyor of fine wines and charcuterie (we are so doomed). Says he can use the rapier dangling artistically from his belt. We shall see.

Lysander

Namer, warrior and jaundiced Michaeline – big white wings and an array of large swords.

Mary-M

Namer, Samielite and overall adorable cherub (cute little white wings and everything). She has an equally adorable winged serpent pet(?). Also a Namer (because we need more of those).

Jocelyn, Urielite Bishop of Seagate.

Silken aka lady Dark

Party leader and self-appointed military scientist (we’re doomed). Being an E$E (sic) mage is the least of her many talents. She is as elegant and put together as ever (and as trustworthy I’m sure).

There are five healers, two of whom are rank 10, three people who have their own wings and one who not only has his own wings but can also carry people around on an exaltation of larks (yes really), one who has a chariot pulled by songbirds (again with the noisy birds) and one who can bring his own inn. How adventuring has changed. You hang out in the forest for five minutes (OK – 20 human years) and adventuring has turned into glamping!!!

We also have courtesans/courtiers, thieves, rangers, assassins, a philosopher/alchemist and a warrior but no actual military scientist because that would be useful.

Our mission (which we apparently decided to accept)

The church had identified 4 possible areas of dark circle incursion. Investigations showed remnants of activity such as animal and human sacrifices but no signs of a dark circle. They want a party of adventurers to investigate the latest incursion, which they have identified through the reliable and accurate arts of astrology and divination, as they look less like paladins (aint that the truth) and more inconspicuous (not).

In their wisdom they have tasked Lady Dark (AKA the Lady Silken) to gather a group for this purpose. A little bit of divine interference has ensured that both Lysander and Mary-M are amongst the party. Others appear to have been available by mere happenstance (hmm, a likely story).

1 Frost 826

After brief introductions (and reintroductions) our motley crew hied ourselves to the Cathedral where we were briefed by Bishop Jocelyn (time has not been kind). The bishop has given us a thurible (incense burner) that helps detect the presence of evil by floating gently off towards it (very useful in the woods where there will be no natural breezes to blow it around).

The area is in the Greenwood which is about 150 miles south and east of Seagate. We did the usual preparation (divinations, enchantments, a three-course meal) and set off the following morning. We trekked all day – oh wait, no we didn’t, we flew on wings, larks, broomstick and chariot – and arrived in a clearing in the Greenwood about 4 hours later. How times have changed. Who knows what the next days will bring? I predict an equal mix of chaos and hedonism. Whatever it is, I doubt it will dull.

2 Frost 826

This being the true and accurate representation as dictated to me by my Master Lord Dramus. Where he has not supplied information I have sought information from other parties involved and included their dictations as presented. - Tobias Pendleton (Scribe)

First stone circle

Upon performing a Detection of Evil via the provided thurible the party did head off to the east in an exultation of larks.

Knurl, a Pixie.

Arriving at clearing the party spied a stone circle with 3 fallen stones. Some of the stones hae been covered in blood and there is a shallow grave nearby.

The standing stones are faintly magical but are not trapped warded or cursed.

There are three bodies, two whole and one bisected with the the top half remaining. The bisected entity is the remains of cervitaur (A centaur but more expensive [A little deerer])

Speaking to the Fallen

My master then tried to speak with the fallen but they did not wish to communicate. So the Wiccan Lady spoke via cards and determoned that they came from the Fastness of Girwyllan and were on their way back from The Cloisters when they were captured at night in the Greenwood and a couple of days later killed. They are part of a church to the dark powers and are working against another sect.

Speaking to a pixie

My Master then went of to speak to the fae hoping for a better response than recieved from the deceased meeting a friendly Pixie both Gnarled and Gnerled. Learning that centaurs and cervitaur have been more common since summer and do not belong here. Also lets us know about the evil Satyrs with Goatlike faces As well as a Boneyard, a large circle and a number of smaller Circles.

Dinner and Bed

We then walk to Adjepbar via Dream for dinner and sleep. As they entered Dream they saw, in the distance to the north, a storm the group believe represents an incursiuon from Furfur The Earl of Storms and Lightning.

3 Frost 826

Mario here to provide you with the next installment of our adventures
We head back to the Greenwood from Adjepbar after dinner and a good nights sleep. Dramus and Amber have eaten something that has not agreed with them so they unfortunately are forced to stay at our base camp

Runes found beneath the Portal Tomb site.

We recap the timings noted from the first evil clearing - The circle was dedicated to a power in autumn, the crystals present nearby were gathered some time later, then the circle was reconsecrated to another power recently
We now know that Furfur was the first power and has cultists based at the Cloisters. This explains the storm seen in dream which also manifests in reality throughout the day
The second power we also now know as being Marchosias

Dolmen or portal tomb

We plan to find another clearing which has evil detectable by the thurible. Lysander takes off under walking unseen to scout for a possible circle based on patterns and thurible smoke
She spots a small clearing with two large upright stones with one large stone leaning at an angle on them, apparently this is called a portal tomb or dolmen. It is about 6 miles from base camp
We set off in various styles of movement, though no songbirds to improve our stealth. We approach cautiously to look for evil doers but find none present
No movement, nothing on esp/telepathy but the thurible smoke points to the stones. They are old magic, primal, Druidic earth magics
We trace the smoke with a wizards eye into the entry of the stones and find a narrow staircase leading down. Mary M throws a ball of light down the stairs, Took genes prevail
We decide to follow the light orb. Lysander finds fibres set to show someone has passed through. We avoid them and progress down to the bottom of stairs into a narrow cleft. Eldritch drawings are noted on the walls, less tits and more tentacles, disappointing
An opening off to the right, a small ossuary, to the left another, the end of the cleft has dead heads on poles and seems to be the source of the evil the smoke is attracted to.
We investigate, head killed 3 days ago, similar time as deaths at first sacrifice area, pole is bestial magic, name of magic is dedication. While there we find a feather that I work out was from a raven belonging to Stolas.

Mary M and myself start long divinates, about 90 mins in an evil group approaches a sleeping Silken within the stones. Silken had mentioned having a nap while waiting, her location of choice leaves a lot to be desired.
Thankfully the alarm is raised by Mary Ms pet which was watching for trouble at the top of the stairs. Axis wizard eyes the group, 12 human sized goat faced satyrs plus 2 minotaurs.
The group are confused by the sleeping beauty and are working out what to do. Not knowing yet whether they are friend or foe, we attempt a dissemble with some success.
I sneak up and out invisible which they do not detect, then I ‘enter’ the clearing to rescue my sleeping lady. They are confused but not aggressive and allow me to converse with them to find out they are followers of Urox and that we should not be here, very dangerous.
After some bluff and bluster we toast the success of their endeavours and Silken and I leave the clearing together. Unfortunately we have found out they are going downstairs, other than the 2 minotaurs, to where the party are hiding

Still unsure of their nature, the remaining party (Axis, Mary M and Lysander) hide in the first small ossuary hoping they will pass by and allow their exit
They almost pass by, but one of their number smells them and they start to search. A bit of ventriloquist trickery gets them chasing shadows elsewhere and the party sneak their way up towards the waiting minotaurs
The party have noted that the 12 goat faced satyrs reek of evil, so we pivot to plotting their destruction using the stairs as a choke point
Silken and I try to take out the minotaurs with spells, the sleep from Silken was effective, my control person was resisted and the alarm was raised. Just as the party arrived at the remaining minotaur, I got it under control and we now controlled the top of the stairs
The satyrs charge up towards us and Mary M calls her holy fire down upon them, they melt rather well. A sleep and mental attack leaves only a few plus a shaman down the stairs
We move forward to stop the shaman incanting however he calls forth an avatar of Marchosias just before him and his remaining minions are also introduced to the holy fire of Mary M
Lysander and I move to engage the avatar. While it tramples and breathes on us, Lysander deals many strong blows and I manage to finish it off. We regroup to plan our next move.

Mary-M's scribe notes

Before leaving the Boneyard I wanted to break the area’s dedication to the demon Marchosias so I asked Axis if he could get the totem poles outside and then dragon fire them, which he did.

I used the Thurible to check the results, the smoke showed there was still an evil taint in the area, but it was back to the original nature-based effect, and the demonic effect was gone.

We talked to the minotaur prisoner. We found out he and his fellow were from Tarsh near the Lunar Empire. He called their enemies servants of Ragnaglar (evil storm god) whose servants includes Humans, Harpies and Cervataurs.

Because the minotaurs were not evil in and of themselves, just hired muscle, we left them there to find their own way home.

We headed back to the Tower for lunch and a catch up with the rest of our party.

While we were away Dramus had a visit from Knurl the Pixie who provided some new information about stone circles in the area. He also mentioned that there were also some folks wearing iron armour around the area that he was avoiding.

Based on this we decided to investigated Nelly’s Bog after lunch.

Greatwing scouted the area for us and identified something of a clearing with three familiar looking totem poles complete with rotting heads. These posts were leaning out outwards because of the swampy nature of the “ground”. The party landed in trees that were growing out of the water.

After discussion we decided there was no point in carrying out a divination at this time and that we would dragon flames the totem poles again since they were temporary and easily destroyed.

Dramus warped some dead wood to create a small platform out of the water. Mario picked up a couple of minds lurking and sleeping under the water; possibly the grindylows that Knurl had mentioned. Dramus walked on water and had his ankle grabbed, he responded with agony. Mario mentally dominated the other mind.

Small reed-like creatures (“Spites”) crept over Mario’s and my feet on the platform, fixing us to the ground. We cut ourselves free and returned to the air. Mario questioned the grindylow and discovered that crystal had been here but had been removed by Nelly (who we decided was a Bog Hag… or a Hydra). More grindylows began to approach and Mario attempted to warn them off.

From her perch high in a tree Silken spotted two armoured dwarves of nearby mudbank and waved at them. Mario cast another mind speech including the dwarves.

They recognized some of us from the Battle of Carson’s Switch and we realized that they were dark dwarves that once served Ahriman. We decided to relocate to a safer place outside the swamp to parley.

The dwarves withdrew, meeting six companions. One was attacked by a grindylow and killed it with a missile weapon that fired a metal ball. The dwarves all then disappeared underground.

We flew two miles west to the designated meeting place and the dwarves arrived from the underground. Mario could detect two Earth Elemental with them.

The same two dwarves approached to discuss matters. They introduced themselves as Garum Firebeard and Aradun Deepcrag.

What we learned from them

The Balrog Gothron (missing his glass hand) had returned and bound and controlled them to retrieve the dark circle crystals for him. They have spent over a year doing this and the last month in the Greenwood where they have successfully gathered reactivated crystals from beneath several ritual sites including the Six Sisters and the Boneyard.

Garum and Aradun suggested that if the party were to rid them of the Balrog then they would no longer have any need of the crystals and would turn these over along with additional rewards.

Buffs & Mil Sci

Buffs

Long Term (assumed always on)

Magic (caster)	Rk	Effects	Duration	Si	Ax	Am	Ly	MM	Dr	Ma
Dark Vision (Dr)	7	Cat Vision	8 hrs

Self Only

Magic (caster)	Rk	Effects	Duration	Si	Ax	Am	Ly	MM	Dr	Ma
Fireproofing (Dr)	10	Protection from non-magical heat and fire	11 hrs
Fire Armour (Dr)	10	+44 ablative armour against magical fire	11 hrs
Mind Shield	Rk	+10+2/rk% vs M.Att.	1+2/rk hrs						6	8
Wraithcloak	Rk	+32% Def +6 AP +21 Stealth	10.5 hrs						20
Holy Armour	Rk	+37%, 17 retributive -17 Stealth	8.5 hrs					16
Force Shield	Rk 24	+50% Def, ablative protection	12.5 hrs							Y

Short Term (cast when needed)

Magic (caster)	Rk	Effects	Dur	Si	Ax	Am	Ly	MM	Dr	Ma
Enchant Weapon (Ax)	17	+18 BC%, +6 Dam. +7 vs Phn/Nm	22 min
Spectral Weapon (Dr)	16	+17 BC%, +6 Dam. Can hit Insubstantial	21 min
Weapon of Flames (Ma)	13	+14 BC%, +7 Dam.	18 min							Y
Mind Speech (Dr)	6	7 people communicate Telepathically	70 min

Cast by minions and retainers

Magic (caster)	Rk	Effects	Dur	Location	Si	Ax	Am	Ly	MM	Dr	Ma
Strength of Stone (Ent)	20	+20 either ST or END	21 hours	Asheth
Armour of Earth (Ent)	20	+42% Def 1pt Armour	21 hours	Asheth
Water Breathing (Splosh)	16	Can breathe Underwater	17 hours	Tower
Water Proofing (Splosh)	10	Water proof objects for 55 days, or entities for 33 hours	Variable	Tower
Waters of Healing (Splosh)	14	Heals for D-5+14. Cost 200sp for Perm	17 hours	Tower

Senses and other stuff

Capability	Rk	Effects	Dur	Si	Ax	Am	Ly	MM	Dr	Ma
Sense Danger (%)		Mind Talent (or equivalent)							63%	75%
Detect Ambush (%)		Ranger (-5/rank of opposition)							138%/118%	130%
Enhanced Vision		Pierce fog/obscurement								11
See Invis (Rk)		Effective rank for seeing invisible			20				20	11
Stealth (%)		Standard / Ranger Outdoors			20			97%	84%/96%	119%
Sense Mana (Rk)		Can see Mana Flows							15
Fae Sight		Can See Through Illusions							< Rk 9
Sense Death		Can Detect Deaths							130ft

Misc

Greater Enchantment

(Ax) rank 20: +21 all areas for the season

(Myrrh courtesy of the bishop)

Enhance Enchantment

(Ax) rank 11-13: 65-80 seconds

Remove Curse

(Dr) MA 32 (62 if urgent)

Heroic Aura (Mario)

+6% SC, +2 Damage, +6% Defence, +2 Damage Reduction, +11% vs Fear checks.

Herbalist Lunch/Broth

?? rk ?, Meal 4 FT or Broth 4 FT

Watch Order

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
1		2		3		4		5		6

Marching Order

Skirmish Formations (Front)
Default	Double File	Single File ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

Calendar

Winter: Frost 825 (7)
	Moonday		Duesday		W'ansday		Th'rsday		Frysday		Reapsday		Sunday
		Samhain	1	Guild Meeting Seagate	2		3		4		5		6
	7		8		9		10		11		12		13
	14		15		16		17		18		19		10
	21		22		23		24		25		26		27
	28		29		30		1		2		3		4
Winter: Snow 825 (8)
	5		6		7		8		9		10		11
	12		13		14		15	Solstice	16		17		18	Yuletide
	19	Days of Chaos	20	DoC2	21	DoC3	22	DoC4	23	DoC5	24	DoC6	25	DoC7
	26	DoC8	27	DoC9	28	DoC10	29	DoC11	30	Twelfth Night	1		2
Winter: Ice 825 (9)
	3		4		5		6	First Plough	7		8		9
	10		11		12		13		14		15		16
	17		18		19		20		21		22		23
	24		25		26		27		28		29		30

Appendices

Chronology

Being a summary of events involving the Dark Circle, Demon Emperors, Dark Dwarves, and Balrogs

783

A guild party attempts to prevent Rashak's general The Great Khan from trying to unite the Plains Barbarians. They fail but succeed in delaying him while he recovers from his wounds and the party's propaganda. A team of demonic assassins attacks the guild, destroying the old infirmary and slaying most of the guild healers. The new infirmary is built in a more secure location. Adventurers assist with healing until new guild healers can be recruited.

784

A guild party race The Great Khan in an attempt to find the tomb of Hanyax to recover the Crown of Command and the Orb of Yama. The Great Khan beats them there only to fall under the tomb's curse. The party considered entering the tomb but were driven off by a Black Dragon. It would be twelve years before Rashak was able to release The Great Khan from the tomb.

785

A guild party assist in breaking the siege of Knega by Rashak's forces led by The Khan's two uncles. This delays Rashak by six years until Knega falls to treachery.

787 WK

A party locates in passing a display case holding the apparently still living hand of a balrog in the ruins of “the Plains Guild Hall” . The artefact is not brought back to Seagate. Current whereabouts of the hand are uncertain though it is known that some artefacts from this location were subsequently claimed by the Tac Adventurers Guild and taken to Tac.

Autumn 789 WK

A party is sent by Marquessa Dulciena de Bowcourt to serve a notice of payment on dwarves who hadn't paid the rent on their mine for 800 years. At the dwarven mines, near the northern borders of Foxcourt and Newcourt, the party discovers dwarves with bizarre mutations from the effects of “warpstone” and a balrog named Gothron who was watching over the tomb-prison of the Demon Emperor Ahriman; the source of the warpstone energy. The balrog threatens the party, giving them a year and a day to return with the key to Ahriman’s tomb. Gothron had an unusual distinguishing mark - it was missing its left hand, which had been replaced with one made of a crystalline substance (warpstone).

Related party members

Silken, Axis (?)

Summer 790 WK

Operating on reports from a party in Empyrea the previous season several of the adventurers from the Mines of Gothron ventured to this other world and reclaimed an ancient artefact subsequently termed “The Balrog's Egg”. They returned this to Gothron in the dwarven mines where it was used to open Ahriman’s tomb. For reasons beyond the scope of these notes Ahriman dismissed Gothron and went into seclusion with the warpstone altered dwarves.

Related party members

Axis, Silken

Autumn 797 WK

Guild party frees Demon Emperor Apollyon, setting in motion a disastrous chain of events.

Samhain 798 WK

Seagate Guild ravaged by black necromantic fire; a Black Dragon, Incubi, and Succubi are amongst the attackers. Members of the guild council kidnapped. Majority of older membership records, scribe notes, treasure division records, and financial accounts lost along with large parts of the library.

Spring 799 WK

First direct mention of the Dark Circle is recorded in the Seagate Times (issue 27) after the effect crosses into Brastor, though later reports state is was initially observed in the Sea of Grass in the early 780s.

Circle is associated with Rashak, the Necromancer of Massada, who is now blamed for the attack on the Guild. Duke Leto orders a Call-to-Arms throughout Carzala.

A Guild party, seeking ducal cavalry (and Silken), who had gone missing near Slippery Rock end up in a shadow realm, are briefly decapitated, deliberately burn an inn, destroy a pocket plane, and return with a missing holy artefact, the Standard of Saint Jeremiah.

During this the party encounter the balrog Gothron and during an altercation the balrog’s warpstone hand strikes a holy relic causing it to explode.

Related party members

Mary-M, Silken

Summer 800 WK

Dark Circle effect reaches Seagate. The Times publishes advice for those venturing into the area which are summarised as: don't get hit, don't get hurt, don't die, don't underestimate them, don't forget your Holy Water.

Silken claims a vision from Uriel and after inquisitorial questioning swears an oath of obedience, modesty, and chastity to the Western Church until the Dark Circle is banished forever. She is granted the title of Lady Dark and subsequently in Autumn leads a party into the Dark Circle.

Related party members

Silken, Dramus (briefly)

Lysander and Mary-M (Inquisition only)

Winter 800 WK

An earthquake strikes Carzala and a tidal wave sweeps into Confederation Bay. This is later confirmed to be the result of Apollyon’s ritual to raise the Demon Emperor Leviathan from the deep.

Spring 800 WK

Dark Circle effect recedes; no convincing explanation is determined. Some farmers are sent back to Brastor with a military escort.

Carzala completes its southern fortifications stretching from Regar’s Keep in the foothills of the Fastness of Girwyllan to the Sweetwater south-east of Arn’s Ferry. The wall of fire-hardened earth and stone is 30 feet tall (60 feet wide at its base), with a waterlogged ditch on the far side equally deep. The few gaps in the wall for access to Brastor are very heavily fortified.

Summer 801 WK

A party undertaking scouting in Terranova to determine Apollyon’s military plans meet Ahriman and his dark dwarves. They are aiding local dwarves in opposing Apollyon’s armies while also maintaining enormous underground reservoirs of highly magical and life-charged water; this so-called “Dark Graal” being some form of debt that Ahriman owes to Xanadu, the Dragon God.

Related party members

Mary-M

Spring 801 WK

Seagate Times special correspondent Henri Stanleigh reports that Apollyon’s armies are working towards flooding the Silt Sea in Northern Terranova with the apparent goal of reaching the ruins of the ancient elven capital of Kadath.

Spring 802 WK

With Apollyon’s army of Spawn forcing a passage north into the Drow lands of Terranova heading for Kadath to free Baal, a party embark on a dangerous mission to seek out the ancient dragons who left Alusia millennia ago (as mentioned in Jade Dragon's Story) and enlist their aid. One of the dragons that return with the party is Eriskigal, formerly the mate of Ahriman. They are reunited in the aftermath of these events and at some later point leave for parts unknown.

Related party members

Axis, Mary-M

Spring 805 WK

Assassins from the Dark Circle attack King Ulric on his 11th birthday. Several nobles are killed including the Baroness of Silvanwold. Duke Frederick of Aquila, Regent and father of King Ulric, summoned high ranking nobles for a "council of war", and was overheard to declare that the time had come to "deal once and for all with the murderess of Masada". The duke began assembling forces for a campaign against the Dark Circle in Summer. In Brastor, Duke Leto’s forces regain complete control of Brastor holdings, with the edge of the Dark Circle pushed south of Brastor Town. Elements of the Brastor Liberation Army burned the ruined remains of Dramus’s manor house.

Summer 805 WK

Brastor fully liberated. Colonel Lyndon-Smyth, commander of the Brastor Pike Regiment quotes as declaring: "We've got Rashak and her minions on the run men … the war will be over by Michaelmas". Sir Gaius de Malvallet, Chaper Master of the "Knights of the Wrath of Michael" appointed Knight-Marshall of the Orders of Light and charged with the destruction of the Dark Circle, its creator, and any that would aid and abet her.

Autumn 805 WK

Dark Circle surges back into Brastor cutting off the many forces arrayed there. First battle of Carson’s Switch fought by Eltrandoran cavalry and Aquilan Knights in order to get out refugees. Frederick, Duke of Aquila, slain by Dark Circle assassins. Richard Count Foxcourt accused of sedition, insurrection and treason. Found guilt in absentia he flees to the Lunar Empire. Guild party deals with Rashak's minions who are planning to drop stars on Seagate and other locations along with an undead dragon and an ancient kraken.

Related party members

Amber the Witch

Winter 805 WK

Second battle of Carson’s Switch. Twenty guild members reinforce regular forces to significantly damage Dark Circle forces in the pass as part of a plan to extract civilians and remaining Carzalan soldiers. Ahriman’s dark dwarves appear as uncalled for aid; neutralizing enemy earth elementals and assisting in the destruction of undead artillery.

Related party members

Axis, Lysander, Mary-M

Despite this victory, over the next two months the Dark Circle expands into Southern Ranke.

Spring 805 WK

A guild party slay Rashak, outside of Masada, after discovering that she must journey to the Kingstone on the spring Solstice. The party intercept her and her forces who are travelling beneath the ocean on the back of an undead whale. While the death of Rashak seriously shakes the Dark Circle forces, the circle effect itself remains. Hard fighting in Southern Ranke damages the Dark Circle army and reopens the road north from Carzala. Desertion of non-undead units is observed.

Summer 806 WK

Dark Circle forces are pushed back on all fronts. The Dark Circle itself recedes unevenly, with undead forces clinging to areas where it remains in effect. Consecrations and blessings are used to disrupt the effect.

Autumn 806 WK

Novadom freed of Dark Circle undead forces.

Related party members

Amber the Witch

Spring 806 WK

Guild party destroys Masada.

Autumn 808 WK

Guild party discovers a cult, known as the Circle of Blood; a remnant of the Dark Circle and a demonic Death Cult in the ruined town of Kirkul, one of the Five Sisters.

Related party members

Dramus

Liessa slays the balrog “Dark Fire” and ascends to become a nascent Power of Light as Liessa the Devourer.

Winter 808 WK

Kirkul assaulted and razed by a combined Guild, Michaeline, and Midgard force. Circle of Blood cult destroyed.

Witnesses report fire, cold, light, dark, indescribable horrors, and a rain of millstones.

Autumn 813 WK

Richard, the former Count Foxcourt returns and raises an army to protect his people against the Drow invasion. His camp remains just outside Bowcourt; not technically violating his exile. Over the next year shape-changers under Richard’s command hunt bandits and keep the peace in Foxcourt.

Summer 817 WK

The Royal Council of the Western Kingdom found Count Richard of Foxcourt not guilty of betrayal and murder in the case of the assassination of the late Duke Ferdinand of Aquila and announced that his domains should be returned to him. Additionally, he was granted the vacant Barony of Maumains and the title of Marquess of the Eastern Marches, honouring his service and loyalty to the New Western Kingdom. This elevation makes him technically equal in rank to the Marquessa of Bowcourt, further complicating their relationship.

Winter 823 WK

Concerns raised over the ongoing cost of continuing to quarantine Jurgenmark, the most north-western county of Aquila. The quarantine that had been in place for 12 years since the county suffered a pestilence/plague of otherworldly origin. In that time a group of powerful entities had taken over the county and embedded Dark Circle stones around the borders.

Spring 822 WK

Multiple high-profile targets in the Western Kingdom were attacked and several killed by assassins launched from Jurgenmark.

A party ventured into Jurgenmark and discovered the Dark Circle elements and highly coordinated dread lords. The capital of Zeisterheim was transformed by the delivery of a ritually blessed and sanctified bijou mountain from the astrologically significant height of 40 miles.

Autumn 824 WK

Western Kingdom forces retake border areas around Jurgenmark, significantly reducing the threat from that county in preparation for a major summer offensive.

Summer 825 WK

Western Kingdom forces invade Jurgenmark and eventually crush all remaining organized necromantic opposition leaving only isolated pockets of holdouts.

Megaliths in the Greenwood

Six Sisters

The Boneyard

The Graveyard

The Giant

The Bluestones

Nelly's Bog

Broken Circle

Astrology Readings

tbd

Letter to Silken

Lady Dark,
Sworn Servant of the Powers of Light,
It is with considerable reluctance that I write to you now.

Twenty years have passed since Rashak the Destroyer, Mistress of Masada was cast down and the great manifestation of the Dark Circle broken beneath fire and sanctified steel. All hoped that her evil had been wholly extinguished, yet time has proven otherwise.

You will no doubt know of the northern outbreak, wherein Rashak’s surviving acolytes bore fragments of the Circle into the cold provinces of Jurgenmark and sought to seed it anew. By the courage of adventurers of your guild and the sacrifice of loyal Western Kingdom forces, that horror was contained and burned away.

Elsewhere there have been lesser recurrences: hidden crypts, blighted fields, circles found carved beneath ruined chapels and abandoned villages. Each, by grace and vigilance, destroyed by our martial brothers and sisters before it could take root.

But now a more concerning pattern has emerged.

In recent months, our diviners and wardens have marked several manifestations of the Circle in widely separated regions. Yet when our knights and clergy arrive to investigate, they find nothing. No taint. No corruption. No lingering necromancy. Only signs that something had been there and was gone before we could reach it.

The Circle appears. The Circle vanishes. This troubles us greatly.

If this remained a purely martial issue we would send our loyal Church brethren, but as the enemy shows a new deviousness and cunning, our mind turned to your unique talents.

We have recently detected a new manifestation in the Greenwood, that forested area north of Brastor, hard against the Ildrisholm Hills and not far distant from the site of the great victory of Light at Carson's Switch.

For this reason, and by authority granted me by Tomás Xerxes, Archbishop of the Unified Western Church, I hereby call upon the oath you swore before the Inquisition in Seagate in that Year of Tribulations 800 WK.

You swore your obedience, modesty, and chastity until the Dark Circle was banished forever. Therefore, you are requested, and, by your vow required, to take up this onerous charge once more.

Gather such companions as you deem trustworthy. Travel where these signs of corruption lead you. Investigate this area. Discover whether Rashak’s evil survives in hidden form, or whether some deeper darkness now moves beneath its name.

Attend on me in Seagate before your departure. You shall have the support of the Unified Church within reasonable measure: letters of passage, access to our archives, sanctuary where it may be found, and such bounty as our treasuries can responsibly provide.

As additional inducement should this matter be resolved to the satisfaction of the Inquisition, your oath shall be considered fulfilled in full and without reservation; you shall be released from all further obligations to the Church and from the office and burden of Lady Dark.

May the Light yet guide your path and reveal what hides in shadow.

Bishop Jocelyn,
Cathedral of the Dawn
Seagate