Northern Strife, Part 2

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Campaigns: Slaadi Invasion | Northern Strife | Heroes & Traitors | Hollows | Black as Pitch | Air Islands of Nack | BUFD Wars

Northern Strife: Part 1 | Part 2 The Northern Strife Adventure Arc, Part 2 (DMed by David W.) The second part in the Northern Strife storyline. This follows a new group of adventurers as they face off against secretive organizations and wild beasts alike in a massive race to find the shards of the Diamond Rose.

For character info, go here.

Episode 1: “Red Wolf's Instructions”
Date: TH 10057, December 9-20

Coming from varied places, a group of adventurers, employed by the mysterious Red Wolf, were sent to Sjobo in order to look for the missing articles written by the ancient archaeologist Suj Harrener. After some in-depth investigation, the party discovered that the missing articles were carried by another group of people, who apparently worked for the gnome Cabbage and ventured off into the sewers under the Residential Step. Our heroes have followed their tracks, searching deep into the ooze- and excrement-ridden labyrinth of a sewage system. Notes: Kossiss failed to steal a couple coin from the thri-kreen, known only as Exsilliuslova. There is now a silenced tension between the two. Exsilliuslova nearly died in the sewers. However, Styrbjörn managed to administer a potion of healing on her, saving her life.

Episode 2: “Ascher and Amiri”
Date: TH 10057, December 20-21

After finding Bündchen in the sewers, the adventurers decide to help the elf seek out and kill a wererat named Ascher who has been controlling the rats of the sewers to terrorize the population above them. While traveling within the sewers together, Bündchen realizes that these adventurers are working for Red Wolf, the same man who sent her to kill Ascher in the sewers.

After dispatching Ascher and collecting the proper reward from Cabbage, she tells them that the group they're looking for went to the Industry Step to confront an old rival of Cabbage's named Amiri. However, Amiri was murdered shortly thereafter and the Sjobian officials, led by a man named Rennich, have been investigating his murder. After spending the night, our adventurers headed over to Amiri's estate in the Industry Step. While on their way over there, they were ambushed by a man named Jarric and a bunch of his thugs. Fortunately, the adventurers killed them all, but found a note on Jarric.

Upon arriving at Amiri's estate, the adventurers were allowed to look inside to find any possible clues Rennich and his men might have missed. As luck would have it, Kithri found a hidden note which revealed that Isthaarix, a legendary red dragon, was going to attack Sjobo on December 24. It also revealed that Haazi, a known fugitive who recently escaped from Roanac with a group of prisoners, is working for a mysterious organization known as the Order of the Diamond Rose. The adventurers have decided to search out the fugitive Haazi who may perhaps have some information on the whereabouts of those who hold the documents of Suj Harrener. Notes: Kossiss has continued a lack of ethics by stealing some of the gold rewarded to Bündchen without her noticing. Styrbjörn kept the letter written in Dvärglik to Jarric without reading it aloud word-for-word, leaving the others a little dubious about the contents of the letter.

Exsilliuslova's Personal Account

Episode 3: “The Gladiator Pit”
Date: TH 10057, December 21-22

In order to find Haazi, the adventurers needed to seek out a half-orc named Vennari, the leader of an underground organization known as the Garinthikar. Rennich led the group of adventurers to an unmarked location in the Slum Step that led down into underground section, where the Garinthikar were supposedly located.

After finding a blue dragonborn named Travin who worked for Vennari and the Garinthikar, he had the group search out a halfling named Wassara who had been stealing from the Garinthikar. By bringing back Wassara's blade as proof of his death, Travin would provide an audience with Vennari, allowing the adventurers an opportunity to find Haazi. Thus, they "convinced" Wassara to give up his blade, not without dealing out physical harm.

Travin led the group to Vennari's quarters where he and a group of Garinthikar higher-ups were meeting. Vennari happened to know exactly where Haazi was located, and one of his right-hand officials, Trynna, offered to let them fight in the gladiatorial arena as payment for the privileged information of the fugitive Haazi's whereabouts. After surviving two rounds in the gladiator pits that included a group of spiders that ambushed the adventurers and a tribe of captive orcs, Trynna led the adventurers to her personal quarters, where she revealed herself to be Haazi, a changeling who prefers the guise of a half-elf. She led a group of fellow escapees from Roanac to some ruins where they found the articles written by Suj Harrener as well as a shard of what is known as the Diamond Rose. Haazi works for the Order of the Diamond Rose, the same organization who apparently tried to assassinate the group of adventurers and who were in contact with Amiri. After finding the documents and the shard, the group of escapees knocked Haazi out, stole the shard she had them find, and went to Sjobo.

Haazi came back to Sjobo as Trynna and searched them out. They have gone to the avalanche excavation in the back of the city to work for them. In order to get there, people need to talk to Dietrich, a military official of Sjobo. She makes sure that everyone is checked out before working in the excavation. She also happens to be the only one capable of seeing through Haazi's guises, and consequently ended up catching her and putting her in Roanac in the first place. Therefore, Haazi is unable to get to the excavation site.

Haazi has asked the adventurers to see Dietrich and get to the avalanche excavation. There, they are to find the group of escapees and find both the documents of Suj Harrener as well as the shard of the Diamond Rose, which she asks for as payment for giving up the escapees whereabouts.

Notes: Ulric cut off Wassara's hand in the interrogation process. It turns out however, that Wassara wasn't a thief after all. Once again, the moral and ethical quality of the group has decreased. Kossiss has kept up his usual routine of stealing from those he meets and those he travels with.

Exsilliuslova's Personal Account

Episode 4: “Into the Ice Ruin”
Date: TH 10057, December 22-23

After doing some quick investigation regarding the entrance to the Avalanche Excavation, including a quick talk with Lars, the man in charge of hiring for the excavation, the heroes discovered that something has gone wrong and many of the workers there have been killed by ice-like creatures. The adventurers met up with Dietrich in order to gain access to the excavation and hopefully find out who or what has been killing the workers.

Travelling roughly a mile through the icy tunnels of the Avalanche Excavation and passing several medics carrying victims back from the site, the heroes came across Jukavet, the leader of the excavation, who explained that they recently discovered an entrance to an ancient ruin carved into the permanent ice. Shortly thereafter, before Jukavet was able to get archaeologists and other experts in for research, the workers who discovered the ruins were slain by mysterious creatures. Survivors described them as "the ice coming alive out of the walls."

The heroes delved deep into the ruins and came across several of these ice creatures. After destroying them, they came across a large stone door with the symbol of the Raven Queen. The door presented itself through telepathic means, proposing a series of riddles in order to gain passage. After some deliberation, the heroes successfully answered the door's riddles and it stated, ''"Though you and your ancestors... have known only winter in these frigid lands... it was not always so... Enter... and come one step closer to the answer of the ten thousand-year-riddle..." ''

The door opened to reveal a large chamber containing a massive crystal nearly floating atop a dais in the center...

Notes: Styrbjörn suggested to Dietrich that Sjobia reintroduce the ways of the Highlander to the Sjobian army. She denied his request but said that if he proved himself in the Avalanche Excavation then perhaps she may listen further to what he has to say.

Exsilliuslova's Personal Account

Episode 5: “The Heart of Winter”
Date: TH 10057, December 23

The riddling door opened up to reveal a large chamber containing a massive crystal that emanated a blue radiance. After some inspection, Styrbjörn decided to touch it. By doing so, the crystal summoned a massive, hulking creature which seemed to embody "Winter" itself. A fierce battle began, but through Exsilliuslova's quick maneuvers and a bit of luck, she managed to knock the beast unconscious with her "lullaby throwing hammer," making the battle significantly easier.

After he was defeated, his body shattered, leaving behind a shard of the Diamond Rose, seemingly the same shard Haazi sent the adventurers to find. However, it wasn't on the other group of adventurers where they thought it would be. Just then, five capsules rose from the ground below, revealing the other group of adventurers, who seemed to be cursed by Winter's touch. Possessed by this foul magic, they instantly started attacking the adventurers. Through good use of tactics, the adventurers won out over the Winter-possessed group. On them they found the documents of Suj Harrener, which revealed that the Diamond Rose was once an extremely powerful weapon that somehow brought an apocalyptic destruction to the entirety of Bottenhavet. Finally, with the documents and a shard of the Diamond Rose retrieved, the adventurers decided to return to Red Wolf in his cabin, a 10-day journey through the Barrage. First, however, they decided to sleep at the Arse of Bottenhavet tavern in the Slum Step.

Notes: The adventurers turned down Dietrich's offer to join the Sjobian army and fight the Draernic Dwarves. It also seems that everyone in the adventuring party forgot something very, very important...

Exsilliuslova's Personal Account

Episode 6: “Isthaarix Attacks”
Date: TH 10057, December 24

The adventurers had a rather rude awakening on the morning of the 24th. Screams from the patrons downstairs in the Arse of Bottenhavet and cackles from kobold intruders awoke the adventurers, who promptly snuck into the main floor bar area and surprised the kobold offenders. A fight ensued, but they were unable to save the barmaid who was struggling with several kobolds. After dispatching all of them, Kossiss looked outside and saw several kobolds rampaging on the streets of Sjobo, at least a dozen large drakes flying in the air, swooping down and attacking Sjobian citizens while kobolds mounted on their backs rained arcane fire, ice, venom, and lightning. And on the far side of the city he saw the great Isthaarix herself spewing fire on the buildings, snatching people in her massive claws and nonchalantly lobbing them onto the cliff-side, letting them fall over 100 feet to their deaths. The adventurers went outside and several of these kobolds confronted them. After a rather difficult encounter, they dispatched all of them. By this time, Isthaarix had made the sign that she was done with the invasion. She felt that she had dealt enough death and destruction and her kobolds had enough time to ransack and loot many things, so she swooped up and flew off into the Barrage while her kobolds leapt up on the drakes or scrambled up the ropes hanging on the eastern and western cliff-sides, but not without many of them dying by Sjobian hands in the attempt.

After the invasion, many of the Sjobian officials who were still alive immediately got to work on rebuilding the structures that had fallen and having the medical staff heal the wounded if they could. At this time, the adventurers traveled to the Mercantile Step to buy the necessary provisions they needed for a 10-day journey to Red Wolf's cabin in the Barrage. After they had done that, they decided to look into buying real estate, which they found out was very low due to the attack that had destroyed many buildings. They found a small three-story house that had been badly damaged by the attack and bought it for a mere 300gp. Exsilliuslova found and hired a man who had lost his job, his money, his home, and his family in the attack named Henrik Lowbrow to fix up the place. They told him that they'd report back in two hexus (12 days) to see how he's doing. At this point, the adventurers decided that they were ready for the long and arduous trek to Red Wolf's cabin...

Notes: For the house they recently bought, the adventurers plan on making a tannery on the bottom floor with space above for perhaps rental or set it up as a makeshift inn. While they told Henrik that they would see him in 12 days, they're really planning on seeing him in about a month's time.

Exsilliuslova's Personal Account

Episode 7: “Training with Red Wolf”
Date: TH 10057, December 25 - May 4

After the attack of Isthaarix and purchasing a store in the Residential Step of Sjobo, the adventurers embarked on what they thought would be a 10 day journey to Red Wolf's cabin. After a few wrong turns and harsh, hindering weather, it instead took them 14 days. But they hunted for food along the way and had no shortage of food for the entirety of the journey.

On the final day of the trip, however, they encountered an unassuming halfling named Phlydia who suddenly attacked them. Half the party nearly died, but when they finally overcame the halfling, Red Wolf suddenly appeared and stopped the violence. He grabbed the halfling and told the others to follow him to the cabin. There, the heroes handed him the documents of Suj Harrener. After reading through them, he told the group the story of the Diamond Rose and the origin of the Threnalian Knights (for more information, see Threnalian Lineage). Red Wolf then sent Phlydia to speak with his superior named Sombaio for further instructions regarding the shards of the Diamond Rose.

Red Wolf had put the adventurers through rigorous training in various ways for the following four months before Phlydia returned with orders (see notes).

Notes:
 * Bündchen was sent by Red Wolf to seek out a fabled Oak Tree. The spirit within known as Lestothiel gave Bündchen a primal blessing.
 * Exsilliuslova was sick during the entirety of the trek to Red Wolf's cabin. While there, Red Wolf trained her in the profession of tanning and working with furs.
 * Kithri learned how to tinker and create traps. She was also given advice to visit the Shadowfell sometime in the future, but after she became more powerful.
 * Kossiss went through tough training in both physical prowess and social manners throughout the four months. In the end, he has gained a better sense of morality and has learned Red Wolf's Defensive Step.
 * Neveah was encouraged to join a druid's grove in order to calm the chaos of an unnatural environment. His suggestions included the Winter Whisper, the Crashing Boulder, and the Fallen Leaves.
 * Styrbjörn was encouraged to scale the legendary Hardrada Mountain and pick a Thorfinn Flower in order to continue on his path to becoming a Highlander Elite.
 * Ulric was simply given advice to continue his philosophies of strength and battle prowess in the name of Kord. Eventually, he should find a monastery of the Order of Thunder and put in some work there. But for now, he should continue to assist his comrades in battle.

Bündchen's Diary

Neveah's Book of Recycled Ancestors

Episode 8: “Hunted by Agents of the Order”
Date: TH 10058, May 4-15

Over four months had passed since the adventurers arrived at Red Wolf's cabin. On the morning of May 4, Phlydia returned with orders from Sombaio, Red Wolf's immediate superior within the Threnalian Knights. With the knowledge that at least two shards of the Diamond Rose have been discovered (one of which is in the possession of the adventurers), Sombaio has ordered Red Wolf to locate the remaining shards in order to prevent that they do not get into the wrong hands. In the meantime, Sombaio will have other Threnalian Knights search for the location of the missing shard.

The next shard to be found is in or near Draern, the capital fortress of the Draernic Dwarves. However, before the adventurers are to delve under the earth and face any number of dangers there, Red Wolf has suggested that they follow their own paths for the time being. During this process, they will become more experienced in battle and will improve their wits. Therefore, the adventurers first set off for the Fallen Leaves Grove, a 15-day journey through the [[Bottenhavet#The Barrage|Barrage. However, on the 11th day of travel, they encountered a hunter named Slahan Beyetor and his wolf, Dirk. After asking the party if there was a Styrbjörn Starke with them, he immediately charged the Highlander. After a harsh battle, the barbarian hunter and his dog ruthlessly slaughtered Styrbjörn and cut off his head. They also brought Bündchen to unconsciousness. Unfortunately, she bled to death on the ground. Even though two of their members were killed, the rest managed to kill the vicious wolf and his master, even though he had surrendered when near death. Now with only five members of the party left, the adventurers are to decide what they should do with the bodies.

Notes: Slahan Beyetor was hired by the Order of the Diamond Rose. And in particular, he was to bring back the head of Styrbjörn Starke. It was thought by the Order that he alone posed the most threat to the reputation of the Order, and therefore they have made it their mission to crush the Highlanders for good.

Episode 9: “Fallen Leaves Druidic Proving”
Date: TH 10058, May 15-21

Shortly after the death of both Bündchen and Styrbjörn, Kithri and Exsilliuslova decided to bury the bodies. During this time, two strangers came upon them. After about a half hour of deliberation and explanation, the two were trusted enough to join them. These two, Dill and Behati, heard the fighting and came to the scene after the fight had finished. They have been wandering through the Barrage for the past two years, lost in life after hardship had befallen them. Two days had passed since the battle with Slahan when both Exsilliuslova and Kossiss discovered two glowing orbs buried underneath the packed snow near their campsite. After digging out the snow, they discovered a massive warforged who, after warming up and rebooting, had no memory of past events prior to his rescue. With no other missions, B.I.G. Unit (Bulwark Infused Guerrilla) was given a mission to accompany the party and to protect Kossiss, of all beings, at all cost. Four more days of unsteady travelling through the Barrage had passed before Neveah sensed that they were very near the grove of the Fallen Leaves. Not long afterward they came across a strange man named Ash who claimed to be the defender of the grove. He stated that, "...those who are not the true protectors of the body of Aleen are incapable of seeing [the grove]. It is subtly disguised amongst the frost that has plagued this land."

In order to gain access to the grove, Neveah must seek out a nearby orc tribe led by an orog who is called Gresh and bring back his head. The orcs have been burning the land with alchemical flame and have also stolen the moccasins crafted from the hide of an ancient panther from a fellow druid of the Fallen Leaves after mercilessly killing him. After ten more hours of travelling, the adventurers came across a barren land of ash and tree stumps, presumably the land the orcs had burned. They were able to sneak up on a large group of orcs just outside of a cave and managed to defeat them all without letting them alert anyone else.

Notes: B.I.G. Unit was convinced by Kossiss that the kobold was his new master, and therefore B.I.G. has sworn to protect him with his life. The unlikely duo of Dill and Behati have thus far proven to be very useful on the battlefield. Perhaps they will soon be fully trusted.

Episode 10: “Gresh's Den, Part 1”
Date: TH 10058, May 21

After the adventurers killed all of the orcs posted outside of the cave, they ventured inside. Orc alchemists who have been concocting the fiery acid were stirring large cauldrons of the caustic substance when the heroes entered, and a battle ensued. The cauldrons spilled the flaming tar onto the ground and the adventurers struggled to defeat the orcs. Unfortunately, Kithri died valiantly after wading headlong into the thick of the battle.

After the battle, the remaining adventurers delved deeper into the cave, which turned out to be a winding system of tunnels filled with tripwires and springing claw traps. They soon came upon what seemed to be a makeshift prison that held three cages. Inside one of them was an eladrin captive named Sariel who was being guarded by four orcs wielding flails. Despite her innate ability to teleport through veils connected to the Feywild, she was somehow unable to do so and was therefore easily imprisoned within a ruddy iron cage. The adventurers immediately sought to kill the guards and free the eladrin in the process, in which they succeeded in both.

They still must travel deeper into the cave system in order to find Gresh, the orog champion in charge of this orcish clan. Notes: Kithri's death came about from bad luck and unfortunate positioning. Although the orc was not focusing solely on the halfling, she happened to be lying unconscious too close when he slammed his maul into the ground, pummeling everyone nearby. Sariel had to convince Kossiss to release her during the battle with the orc guards. Also, her powers of teleportation were blocked due to some unknown arcane seal that prevents all access into the Feywild.

Episode 11: “Gresh's Den, Part 2”
Date: TH 10058, May 21-23

Before the adventurers could venture deeper into the cave system, they decided that they must retreat for the time being and regain their senses. They traveled roughly thirty minutes outside of the cave and beyond the defiled forest. Sariel in particular could feel the arcane seal blocking access to the Feywild, whatever it may be, lifted as soon as she stepped foot onto the untarnished land. They all made camp in the forest, resting slightly better with the orcish threat lessened.

The next morning, as the heroes were gathering their possessions and preparing for the battles to come, Sariel sang a song that portrayed her background expressed her gratitude for her rescue. The others were enamored with the unexpected performance. Not only do they enjoy having a skilled healer in among their ranks, they can also defend against boredom with fine entertainment!

They made their way back to the cave and explored the deeper crevasses of the cave system, spotting several carvings of the symbol of Gruumsh before stumbling upon the final room containing the dreaded orog known as Gresh and a plethora of his underling orcs. Without time for talk, a fierce battled began. Blades clashed, hammers bashed, arrows pierced, and spells confounded with the heroes coming out alive in the end. They promptly beheaded the now dead Gresh and returned to Ash who was still perched at his stump ten hours away.

With the requested evidence of Neveah's deeds, Ash performed a long-winded ritual in an ancient dialect of Alfur which revealed the grove to be upon them somehow. The lush and serene land of the grove seemed impossible to most of the adventurers who have known nothing but ice and snow their entire lives. There they met Havlihi, the leader of the grove, who explained to them that the grove is not truly hidden due to some illusion, but is rather suspended in the tethers that tie the Feywild to the Primary World.

Havlihi said that she spoke with the spirit of Lestothiel who had requested the presence of the adventurers who slew Gresh. The druids of the Fallen Leaves revere the kind and merciful Lestothiel as one of many spirits of the Feywild and Prime and treat her requests with the utmost importance. She explained that leaving the next morning for the spirit is rather imperative, even though there was no explanation as to why. The next morning, she awoke them, provided breakfast, and then brought them to a secret location where only the highest-ranking druids know how to find where she sent them into the Feywild to travel to Lestothiel.

Notes: Neveah was fully accepted as one of the Fallen Leaves, known henceforth as "Neveah, the Fallen Leaf." Although Sariel was rescued in particular by Kossiss, she has already grown to seriously distrust him, and who can blame her? Kossiss attempted to keep all of the gold found on Gresh to himself, and even caused a fight to break out among Ulric and B.I.G., who has by now relinquished his ties of duty to Kossiss. The heroes also heard that somehow, Bündchen may have been resurrected as a spirit within a sapling near Lestothiel. Although they aren't sure this is true yet.

Sariel's Melodious Word

Episode 12: “Kehlo's Party”
Date: TH 10058, May 23-28

Once in the Feywild, the adventurers began to travel toward Lestothiel. Four days of travelling went by, which included several songs to keep up pace and the magical blooming and ripening of fruit to feed the party. And on the fourth day Exsilliuslova and Sariel noticed what seemed to be a giant blue butterfly, or perhaps two, or perhaps more. Curious by these creatures that seemed to be eluding them easily, they began to follow them off the trail, and the rest of the party went along.

After following these creatures roughly a hundred yards off the trail they were on, they confronted a jovial satyr who called himself Kehlo, who promptly offered drink and food and song and dance to ease the weariness of these forlorn adventurers. A few of them partook in drink, a few of them partook in dance, and all of them listened to the soothing melodies played by Kehlo and his fellow satyrs. Before they knew it, several hours had passed and daylight had faded into nightfall. Becoming tired and feeling a bit loopy, several of the adventurers laid to rest, although the mul, the thri-kreen, and the warforged did not need rest or rested in a state of full awareness, so they did not fail to notice a couple of the satyrs quickly slipping over to their sleeping companions and attempted to rob them. When Ulric yelled at one of them, he awoke the sleeping victims and a fight broke out. Several faerie dragons poofed out of nowhere and began attacking them as well. But they overcame several of these creatures as well as the satyrs. Once the faerie dragons and satyrs lives where relatively threatened, they promptly retreated.

Kehlo managed to escape death, but his friend Rahk was captured. After some quick deliberation, the satyr confessed that their whole dance was a ruse to make them tired and drunk so that they could rob them. And in exchange for his life, he offered them treasures they gathered from different robberies. After receiving the treasure, B.I.G. went into a blind rage, shouting, "All humans must die!" and promptly killed Rahk without provocation. Shortly after he came back to normal and had no recollection of his violence.

They spent the night and continued on to Lestothiel, which only took one more day to get there. Once there, Neveah could immediately sense the greatness of the spirit within the tree. Sariel could also sense something within the tree, but not even close to the degree of the Fallen Leaf. The rest of Neveah's companions only saw a great tree but did not sense any "spirit" within it whatsoever. After several hours of a meditative "conversation" with Lestothiel, Neveah concluded that they must continue to follow the paths of her companions, as she had just done with her own path, but she was reminded not to forget their ultimate goal, which was to prevent evil hands from attaining the shards of the Diamond Rose. After the meditative period, Lestothiel revealed a pathway back to the Primary World and the adventurers went through and appeared back in the Primary Bottenhavet, but the tree was still there, green and beautiful as ever. It seems that the tree exists both in the Primary World and the Feywild.

Notes: As Kehlo was retreating, he shouted that he would likely see them again, in better circumstances, if they ever were to return to the Feywild. Neveah tamed a faerie dragon, but is unable to bring it with her back into the prime. It will be waiting for her return in the Feywild. B.I.G. Unit received a gift of fire from Lestothiel for apparently doing a great deed for the health of the earth of Bottenhavet, but he has no memory of what this may be. Lestothiel "mentioned" that there was a possibility that some friend of the adventurers may not be what he or she seemed and may have ulterior motives.

Episode 13: “The Yeti Ambush”
Date: TH 10058, May 28 - June 3

Back in the Primary World, the adventurers decided to seek out a temple affiliated with the Order of Thunder. After travelling in the general direction of where the temple may be, the adventurers came upon a treacherous pass four days later. Made almost completely of ice, the adventurers had to choose to cross the pass which would take roughly half a day, or travel around for possible several hexus. With the idea that they may be travelling for nearly a month, decided to cross the pass.

Several miles later and roughly halfway through, they were ambushed by an enormous group of yetis. Desperate and starving, these yetis banded together to ambush the next batch of fools trying to cross the pass. Completely vulnerable atop the entirely icy surface, the adventurers were clearly outnumbered and outmatched. Although a smaller group of yetis would have been easy to dispatch for the adventurers, this amount was simply overwhelming.

Alas, when everything seemed hopeless and escape simply not an option against the ice-walking yetis, a group of thri-kreen suddenly came out of nowhere began engaging the remaining yetis. One of them openly engaged Exsilliuslova. Immediately recognizing the attacker and the rest of the group as Strumpat and others from the Krichenflowa Tribe, Exsilliuslova knew that Strumpat was challenging her combat skills, and she would be shamed if any of her companions assisted her. While the rest of the group battled the yetis, Exsilliuslova and Strumpat set off in hand-to-hand combat. Exsilliuslova came close to unconsciousness, but she managed to best Strumpat at the last moment.

After the other thri-kreen and adventurers overcame the yetis, Strumpat gave Exsilliuslova his magical trident, a symbol of power among those in the Krichenflowa. Strumpat told her that since she bested him, she is welcome back into the tribe. However, Exsilliuslova refused the offer: their philosophies were just too different. Nonetheless, she regained acceptance, and if she ever needed the tribe's help, she will get it. One day later, the adventurers made it to the secluded temple known as Drado'oner, a temple devoted to Kord and affiliated with the Order of Thunder.

Notes: After getting to the temple, Dill began to pray to a statue of Kord. While the statue did not respond, a disciple of Kord heard him and offered to train him. Ulric found out at the front gates that his mentor and trainer Yarrak the Biter, whom he thought to be a member of the Order of Thunder, was in fact kicked out of the Order before he even met Ulric. The reason for this is still unknown to Ulric.

Episode 14: “Test of the Order of Thunder”
Date: TH 10058, June 3 - July 7

Once at Drado'oner, both Ulric and Dill decided to begin the training for the test of the Order of Thunder. And to remain within the walls during the training period, the rest of the party needed to follow strict guidelines for day-to-day life. These guidelines included set times for eating, sleeping, meditation, chores, and training. During this time they learned more about the Order of Thunder and the hierarchy of class and rank within the Order.

34 days passed and the test was upon the two trainees. The test consisted of a battle between Thurston Grey, Immsvere, several Storm Knights, and the adventurers as a whole. Failure in the testing meant death for Dill and Ulric, but victory meant becoming a Storm Initiate of the Order of Thunder. As fate would have it, the adventurers emerged victorious. And immediately following the battle, the great cloud that hovers above Drado'oner began to swirl and grow dark. Rain began to fall on the victors, despite the harsh cold -- a rain that many of them have rarely seen if ever. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck Ulric, and the surge of divine energy flowed through the avenger. Thurston and the others immediately recognized the divine favor of Kord himself, not only for his victory in the testing, but for some greater purpose that remains to be understood.

The induction ceremony took place a few hours later, after all the warriors were healed and rested. Both Ulric and Dill were inducted as Storm Initiates, and although initiates are almost exclusively bound to the temple walls for further training, the gift of Kord has led the Thunder Fathers and the Storm Strategos (Thurston) to conclude that they must be sent out to the wider world to carry out Kord's bidding. As such, Thurston understood that they had the overarching mission to find all of the shards of the Diamond Rose.

So, he sent them to help the Cloud Ambassador, Heran B'nordilas over at Draern. After the outbreak of the Deceiver's War, the late king Tagnar's nephews Bromis and Hrafin, both known as the Firebeard Twins, have been arguing with each other about who should wear the crown. The argument has grown so strong that the dwarves are now approaching a civil war while they're also fighting the Sjobian army. With all this in mind, the Cloud Ambassador Heran has been struggling to prevent civil war from breaking out and he has requested help. The adventurers are to travel to Draern and assist in this matter.

Notes: Both Ulric and Dill were given tunics and signet rings of the Order of Thunder. Also as gifts for being initiated, Ulric received a great sword of the Order while Dill received a belt crafted by the Draernic Dwarves. The belt also represents the alliance forged between Draern and the Order of Thunder, which would be fitting considering their current mission to prevent the outbreak of civil war.

Episode 15: “Dreams of Phlydia”
Date: TH 10058, July 7-24

The adventurers decided to head for Sjobo first before arriving at Draern and its dwarves. It would take them at least five days extra to do this, but the adventurers decided it was important to stop by the city and check up on the mostly forgotten Henrik Lowbrow and the house that Ulric, Exsilliuslova, and Neveah paid Henrik to refurbish. And so they headed off from Drado'oner to Sjobo, roughly a 16 day journey, especially if Sariel used her Traveller's Chant to move across the Barrage more swiftly. While travelling, Behati began having recurring, vivid dreams of a little girl wandering in the wilderness. He would follow her until she noticed him and said strange things, suggesting he was lost. After several days of this and not telling his companions, he suddenly began sleepwalking and those who were aware of him followed him. He led them to a hidden stash filled with various treasures, including two shards of the Diamond Rose. As Behati was rummaging through the stash in a sleeping state, the girl in his dreams appeared in reality and revealed herself to be Phlydia, Red Wolf's apprentice. She openly admitted to stealing a shard from Red Wolf, the same shard the adventurers gave him months ago. After a battle, she agreed to spare the adventurers' lives if they spared hers, and in return for her own life, Phlydia told them where a third shard of the Diamond Rose could be found, in some ancient ruins north of Sjobo. With the information given, Phlydia fled the area.

They continued on to Sjobo and met up with Henrik on July 24. There they discovered that the man was as good as his word. He had finished the house nearly a month ago, six months after they had initially left him. For the past month he has been living in it and working as a tailor in a separate shop. The adventurers decided to pay him an extra 500gp to put in several professional equipment into the house, making every space useful for creation.

Notes: After Phlydia had left the adventurers, they realized that one of the shards of the Diamond Rose was unaccounted for: she never said where she found it or where it came from. The adventurers who own the house plan to turn it into a shop that Henrik would run. Every time the owners would return, they would take a percentage of the profits. Both Phlydia and Behati had the dreams of each other. Neither of them were sure what it meant or if it will happen again for either of them.

Episode 16: “Avoiding the Frost Giants”
Date: TH 10058, July 24-27

On the first day the adventurers returned to Sjobo, after meeting up with the now reputable Henrik Lowbrow, they traded unneeded items and weapons with the local merchants and traders. The adventurers discussed their future plans in detail: they are to go to the ruins of Thanau in search for another shard of the Diamond Rose, infiltrate the Cult of Shirotatsu, and steal the treasures within, and then finally go to the realm of the Draernic Dwarves and speak to Ambassador Heran B'nordilas.

The adventurers who grew up in Sjobo know that the way past the Barragian Peaks is short but dangerous. It is rumored that frost giants inhabit the peaks and kill anyone who draws near their realm. With that in mind, the adventurers turned to the Garinthikar and their leader Vennari. After some talks and... diplomatic exchanges from Sariel, the heroes requested fighters, archers, and mages to assist the adventurers in their quest, and in exchange Vennari agreed to take 50% of all the treasure found at Thanau. With the agreement settled, five Garinthikar mercenaries left with the adventurers and set for Thanau.

Travelling up the Avalanche Crust toward the Barragian Peaks, the adventurers attempted to sneak by any Frost Giants they may come across, but unfortunately they were spotted and ran for it. After some close calls, they managed to outrun the giants and make it past the peaks.

After travelling several more hours, they found pillars of obsidian buried deep in the snow set in a pentagonal design. All of these pillars were set only five feet above the crust of the snow and were made solely of a black, glassy obsidian. Upon further investigation, the adventurers saw several runic symbols engraved into the stone. They recognized it as an ancient dialect of the elven script, some form of Alfur, but they were not able to read it or understand it. While investigating these runes, Ulric found a hidden hatch atop one of the pillars. After opening it, they saw a staircase made entirely of obsidian spiraling down into the darkness below. Using the dim light emitting from his eyes, B.I.G. Unit led the way down over 100 feet.

At the bottom the stairwell opened up into a large room, all made of obsidian walls, pillars, floors and ceilings. Ancient elven runes were also carved into the walls and pillars, and the adventurers immediately noticed a warm light emanating from around the corner. It was an unnatural, arcane fire atop a pile of bones, as if the bones were the wooden fuel for the fire. While arguing about what the fire may be, Kossiss thought that the bones may rise and a skeleton may attack. As it turned out, the bones did just that and Kossiss barely dodged an arcane fireball hurled at him from the raised fiery skeleton! A battle ensued, and the heroes and the Garinthikar mercenaries fought several skeletons that made their way toward the commotion. In the end, everyone came out alive and with the task of finding the shards and perhaps more treasure within this obsidian labyrinth...

Notes: While inSjobo, the warforged B.I.G. Unit's Final Messenger activated during his sleep. He awoke to see the device displaying the last moments before he became deactivated in the wake of an avalanche. He saw his dwarven creators and comrades running from the overwhelming roar of snow and becoming crushed underneath its weight, disappearing from view. With the vision, he immediately recalled the arcane power hidden within him and his skills that went with it. He had activated a shield of fire to attempt to withstand the avalanche, but unfortunately it wasn't enough and he himself was overcome. Now able to remember his true skills, he has become the swordmage he was created to be.

Episode 17: “The Third Shard”
Date: TH 10058, July 27

After navigating the labyrinth of the Obsidian Temple of Thanau, the group decided to split up. Neveah, B.I.G. Unit, Behati, Dill and the Garinthikar mercenaries set out in their own direction to cover more ground. After roughly twenty minutes, the rest of the group heard screams. Following the sounds, they came across a great hall where a massacre had taken place. The fresh corpses of all the Garinthikar mercenaries and Neveah lay strewn all over, torn apart. Kneeling over her dead body, a milky-white minotaur named Valonia did her best to explain the situation and avoid direct confrontation. Out of the shadows, the mysterious, yet somewhat laughable, prophet known as Fortuno appeared and told them of the omens he saw that led the odd pair to the ruins. Shortly after some deliberation and introductions, the newly formed group heard further sounds of a raging battle in the distant corridors of the obsidian temple. With Behati, Dill and B.I.G. still missing, they could only assume that they were in trouble. Using his uncanny night vision, Fortuno led the group through the pitch dark by a rope, closely following the fading sounds of battle through the maze-like ruins. Delving deeper into the labyrinth, the group followed the sounds of battle successfully and came across a grand room with a shard of the Diamond Rose resting atop a dais of obsidian. A group of dwarves had just finished destroying the undead guardians of the shard and were now forced to face off against the group of adventurers. The dwarves had also somehow reprogrammed B.I.G. Unit to protect them and attack his former allies.

After a long and epic battle with several near-deaths, the heroes emerged victorious. Valonia grabbed the shard of the Diamond Rose from the dais and the room suddenly closed in on itself, locking them into a completely sealed off obsidian tomb with no immediate means of escape. The mural on the ceiling that once portrayed a complex battle was crushed inward to form the depiction of the Diamond Rose itself.

Notes: Sariel remembered that B.I.G. Unit was created by the Draernic Dwarves and therefore was easily reprogrammed by the dwarves to protect them. Fortuno and Valonia found a rare ring on the dwarven leader capable of summoning illusory dragons. Behati and Dill are still nowhere to be found. Oh, and Exsilliuslova thinks Fortuno is weeeeeeiiird!

Episode 18: “The Obsidian Teleporter”
Date: TH 10058, July 27

Stuck inside the room of obsidian, the adventurers decided to try placing the sixth shard of the Diamond Rose back onto the dais in the hope that it would extend the walls back into their original position so that they may escape from the ruins of Thanau. Instead, a hidden orb arose from the dais, and Kossiss suddenly felt like he was somehow steering the shard. The room began to spin counter-clockwise as the glyph of the Diamond Rose began to wander around the ceiling and walls. Realizing that there must be some arcane function taking place, Fortuno interceded and tried his best to "steer" the diamond shard and the glyph on the wall. After a few minutes of this, the orb and the shard locked into place, as did the glyph wandering on the wall. An archway appeared on the wall, another glyph with the same bluish glow of the Diamond Rose glyph.

Valonia placed her hand on the wall to examine it, and the obsidian suddenly warmed up and dissipated into nothingness. The doorway opened up to reveal that they were in a lush green environment and were stumbling upon a sort of argument between several gnomes who were talking to what seemed to be a giant butterfly encapsulated in an oily bubble. Immediately noticing their sudden arrival, the gnomes shifted their attention from their argument and began to hurl spells at the adventurers while also vanishing into thin air. A rough fight broke out, leaving Ulric near death. However, Kossiss managed to pop the bubble containing the butterfly, who in fact revealed himself to be Rarity Twilight Dash, a druidic pixie of the Feywild. After bringing Ulric back to consciousness, he urged everyone back into what they called the "Elevator" in order to escape what Rarity insisted would be several dozen more gnomes coming to wipe them out.

They all squeezed into the Obsidian Teleporter (a.k.a. "The Elevator") and managed to reseal the doorway before any more gnomes could do them harm. Fortuno immediately began to take control of the vessel and the glyph of the Diamond Rose once again drifted around the walls. It settled in a different segment of the vessel. The door opened up to reveal a massive underground hallway that seemed to have been built millennia ago by a civilization long forgotten. While inspecting the area, Ulric stumbled upon a compartment within the vessel near the dais that contained a strange blank sheet of paper. Upon further inspection, Fortuno managed to divine that it was a strange map showing several constellations of various deities. On the backside of the map, there was an etching that looked very similar to the hallway they were in now. Sensing this as a good omen, Fortuno convinced the rest of the party to explore the deep unknown expanse of the grand hallway. After traveling several hundreds of yards, they came upon a large stairwell that curved around and slowly dug ever deeper. Fortuno explored ahead and found several spider webs that began to completely overrun the stairwell below. After some deliberation on what to do about this with his comrades, he decided to set the webs on fire. This sparked a screeching frenzy of an untold amount of spiders deeper below, but the fire didn't produce the intended effect of carving a way through the stairwell. Instead it flushed out dozens of phasing spiders that chased them all the way back to the "Elevator."

However, Rarity and Exsilliuslova discovered that the sixth shard of the Diamond Rose, the one that steered the vessel, was missing. Realizing this strange folly, they decided to turn and face the incoming horde of phase spiders and take them out. One by one, the adventurers slew the spiders, big and small, and came out victorious. However, nearing the end of their battle, they heard the screeches and wisp-like sound of teleportation of even more spiders coming down the hallway they just ran from.

Notes: Rarity Twilight Dash has just joined the party in a haphazard fashion, saving Ulric's life and forcing everyone to risk another chaotic teleportation over what seemed to be a certain death.

Episode 19: “Kesselyin”
Date: TH 10058, July 27

After discovering that the sixth shard of the Diamond Rose was missing from the dais of the Obsidian Teleporter, the adventurers continued to avoid the oncoming horde of phase spiders. As they ran down the hallway into the unknown, they came up to a large wall and a door. Before the spiders got too close to attack, they burst through the door and slammed it behind them. An ancient sign written in a very archaic form of Alfur was carved into the crumbling stone walls. Sariel could read only bits and pieces of it, but deduced that it was directions, one arrow pointing toward a "Throne Room" and the other pointing toward the "Treasury." After a few moments of deciding and not deciding and deciding to let the fates decide via Fortuno's flip of a coin. The God Lafoz worked in the adventurers' favor and guided them to the treasury first. They soon came across a series of wickedly designed traps that continuously electrified and blasted them with cold air. But with Exsilliuslova's athletic prowess and her uncanny knack for common sense, she made it through the three traps into the treasury itself. Kossiss also was able to detect and disable a trap in the giant treasure chest in the treasury. After taking all the gold, remaining potions, and various items -- Valonia found a pair of gauntlets that revealed themselves to contain the spirit of the great Mrtok, an ogre chieftain of an ancient clan who claimed to be imprisoned long ago by a wizard named Kesselyin. Soon after going to the Throne Room, the adventurers found out who exactly Kesselyin was. He introduced himself as the long forgotten lord of the Halls of the Rinvenor, the ruins of an ancient elven province of the kingdom under the command of the Threnalian dynasty. He also revealed himself to be a vampire.

And as a plea for both his escape from this underground tomb and having to destroy the adventurers, he explained to the party that he knew all about the Diamond Rose and where the remaining shards were located. On top of that, he had intimate knowledge of the Obsidian Teleporter and how to operate it. The only problem is that it requires the hands of living flesh (not undead vampire flesh) to operate, and therefore he needed the party to use it. After a long time of deliberation, the party decided not to try to vanquish the obviously evil vampire and use him to both get out of the underground Halls of the Rinvenor and move onward to the supposed location of the next shard, which happened to be at the secret entrance of the Cult of Shirotatsu.

Notes: Despite Mrtok's protestations against siding with Kesselyin, the party did so for his help anyway -- paving the way toward a very awkward relationship between Valonia and her new-found gauntlets.

Episode 20: “The Eye of Shirotatsu, Part 1”
Date: TH 10058, July 28

At the secret entrance to the base of the Cult of Shirotatsu, Kesselyin and the rest of the party decided it would be best to camp out inside the Obsidian Teleporter for the night and plan their assault of the base in the morning. Throughout the night, Exsilliuslova had kept a close eye on Kesselyin in her torpid state and to her satisfaction, he had only gone out to "hunt" some stray kobolds, presumably for fresh blood. As dawn broke, Kesselyin told the others he would stay at the Teleporter while the others went forward. The rest reluctantly agreed to allow him to stay while they went closer to the entrance. They managed to set themselves up in an advantageous position, half of the group sneaking around at the top of the cliff above the entrance. As the initial assault went underway, the fight moved inside the base, where Kossiss used his thieving abilities to re-rig the traps to work against the other kobolds. His maneuvers worked and they overcame the initial wave of kobolds, but not without setting off the alarm that sounded throughout the entire base. Now, with some basic knowledge of the base, Kossiss has decided to lead the group to the next main area in which the trapmaker known as Slik resides with all of his contraptions and concoctions. With any luck, perhaps he can turn Slik and utilize his tools and potions to the party's own benefit.

Notes: Kesselyin has been able to keep his blood cravings to a minimum by hunting at night while the others are asleep, but no one knows for sure what else he may be doing during that time.

Episode 21: “The Eye of Shirotatsu, Part 2”
Date: TH 10058, July 28

After the adventurers dispatched the initial line of kobolds, Kossiss led his group deeper into the base of the Cult of Shirotatsu. He led them to the inner circle, where Slik, the trapmaker, and his crew put up quite a fight but were ultimately overcome by the adventurers. They pressed further all the way to the end of the base in the "Chamber of Elders," the location where the Eye of Shirotatsu was located, along with the leader of the cult, Thizziht, and several monks under his command. An immense battle broke out, and Valonia was unfortunately dominated by the evil shrine that held the Eye for most of the fight, but the rest of the group managed to take down Thizziht and his monks. After the battle subsided, Kossiss snatched the Eye of Shirotatsu, a gelatinous orb with a diamond pupil inside. Upon closer inspection of the Eye, Kossiss came to realize that the pupil itself was indeed a shard of the Diamond Rose itself. Notes: Kossiss can feel a strange connection to the Eye of Shirotatsu that goes beyond anything physical or out of greed, but he cannot pinpoint it yet. It is strange the the Eye itself, supposedly taken directly from the dragonness Shirotatsu is also the first Shard of the Diamond Rose... one might wonder how such a fact came to be.

Episode 22: "Ambushed at the Ancient Elven Burial Grounds”
Date: TH 10058, July 29

After resting in the Obsidian Teleporter, the adventurers began to wonder how long they should trust their guide, the vampire Kesselyin. Those bearing the shards of the Diamond Rose used their shared ability to telepathically communicate with one another without Kesselyin knowing. They were planning on killing him before he could betray them. With that in mind, they still needed Kesselyin to guide them to the locations of the remaining shards. So they asked him to teleport to Draern in order to continue their mission both to find a shard and to speak with Cloud Ambassador Heran B'nordilas and resolve the growing threat of civil war among the Draernic Dwarves. However, Kesselyin surprised them all by teleporting them to a secret ancient elven burial ground, where he ambushed the group. He was still outmatched and too weak to overcome the adventurers, however, and he escaped the battle, stating that he would indeed be back. Upset that they were attacked by Kesselyin before they could plan their own attack, they decided to travel back to Sjobo to check up on their business investments and sell their equipment. When they teleported to the Protected Valley just south of the front gates of Sjobo, they found that the city was in flames. And in the distances of the smoke and fire rising from the city, they saw the silhouette of a dragon flying through the blaze.

Notes: Fortuno has come to understand that he can still steer the Obsidian Teleporter with accuracy but only to places that he has already traveled to. Only those with arcane inclinations can steer the ship, and only if they are in possession of the Tiller of the Obsidian Teleporter. Both Exsilliuslova and Ulric, the two remaining owners of the house in Sjobo, are both hoping that the house hasn't burned down in the attack from the dragon, who they can only assume is the dreaded Isthaarix.

Episode 23: "Fugitives Returning to Sjobo”
Date: TH 10058, July 29-30

After the adventurers returned to Sjobo, they decided to spend the night outside of the city and wait for the fallout after the attack. The next morning they entered the city and went straight to the Residential Step where Exsilliuslova and Ulric owned the house they bought several months ago. While speaking with Henrik Lowbrow, the custodian of the house, the adventurers ran into the eclectic Cabbage, who promptly guided them to her little tower in the Residential Step.

While speaking with Cabbage, she revealed to them that Exsilliuslova and Ulric and any of their affiliates are fugitives accused of being in violation of Article 17 of the Sjobian Writs of Virtue, Conspiracy with Dragons. They are wanted for causing the great red dragon, Isthaarix to attack again before the thirty-year mark.

Notes:

[This marks the sudden end to the Northern Strife campaign. It may yet again be revived, but only time can tell.]

Sections: Main | Campaigns | Characters | NPCs | Locales | Culture | History | Artifacts | Maps

Campaigns: Slaadi Invasion | Northern Strife | Heroes & Traitors | Hollows | Black as Pitch | Air Islands of Nack | BUFD Wars

Northern Strife: Part 1 | Part 2