11:12
As the Lords of Rotan finish their meeting, Joranth's daughter -- Reandra Bumblefoot -- storms into the meeting room. She demands to know what has  happened to her father's body. Reandra has been travelling for many months,  but when she returned to Rotan she was shocked to find that no-one had  organised a funeral for Joranth. Worse still -- although official records show that Joranth's body arrived in the city on 2705:7:10, nobody seems to know what happened to it.

Halflings patrolling in Soroom Forest discover a scroll case in a burnt caravan. One of the scouts returns the scroll to Elder Grimble, a halfling leader in Waterloaf. Believing the contents of the scroll to be important, Elder Grimble contacts Harmony Sweetsong, who in turn speaks to Damalanthas Quithas. Elder Grimble agrees to send a messenger to Rotan with the scroll and Damus assures him that the Lords will protect the messenger.

A notice is placed in Griffon Keep:

"Hiring a group of adventurers to explore and map the legendary Giantdowns. Benefactor will equip party and pay the party (of up to seven) 500 Gold Nobles, for exploration maps and proof of Giants. Party keeps ALL but 10% of treasure found. Short term medical expenses fully paid. No 'hackers'  wanted, only seasoned adventurers need apply. Knowledge of the area advantageous in selection. Testing begins tomorrow."

Euvgeni returns to Outreach. Preparations in the southern nation reach a fever pitch. The Dragonwatch Guard begins practicing guerilla tactics and strategies to use against trollish troops. Reserve forces are called into action to protect key sites in the city and the supply lines.

A letter is deliver to Tekuna's door.

"We have had no previous meetings, but I represent a party of people who could be most useful to your organization. All of us are mages, and we find ourselves dissatisfied with the current leadership, and direction of the organizations we belong to. I represent a group of eight mages and twelve apprentices that wish to become more involved in the affairs of the lands. Now while most of us are stationed at the Academy of Magic in Pirs, we have support for this venture from certain members of the University of Craft and Thought as well. The time has come for us to find a common... employer. The reason why we approached you is because we know you can recognize a great opportunity, and have the necessary backing of the Rotan Merchants' Alliance to accommodate us. You are the first person to be contacted, but be advised that should you refuse our offer, we shall extend it to both Outreach and the Pirsian Traders Fold, followed by the Simipian Trading Houses. I would like to meet you in person to further outline the benefits of our employment, and discuss any details of services offered.

As you can imagine, this letter is very sensitive, and its discovery would lead to our expulsion from the institutions that we currently serve. I undersign it with my name in order to stress our commitment to this course of action. Should you decide to speak to me in person, I will be at the Rotan Bank tomorrow at noon for ten minutes only. After that, I will approach the other parties mentioned.

Yours Faithfully,
Julius Ell"

In Rotan, Tekuna meets with Julius Ell and, after some discussion, a deal is struck.

At Griffon Keep, Jandar Ter'Faan begins interviewing applicants for the expedition to the Giantdowns.

Grumplin -- a messenger from Waterloaf -- arrives in Rotan with a scroll case. Shortly afterwards, he and Tekuna are attacked within the Rotan Palace by mercenaries. At Tekuna's urging, Grumplin escapes by teleporting to Outreach, but he sustains some injuries and passes out. Euvgeni, Kolya and Yuri find Grumplin's unconscious form near Outreach City.

Although she sustains minor injuries in the battle, Tekuna wastes no time, and contacts Souriin and Damalanthas immediately. Soon afterwards Damus visits Grumplin in a dream.

Back in Outreach, Kolya stabs Yuri in the back and then turns on Euvgeni. Kolya has underestimated the warrior and is defeated, before he dies, he admits that he is in the pay of one Darryn Moltoy. Although Yuri is gravely injured, Grumplin is able to help Euvgeni save his life.

11:14
Chancellor Belimirar Wozacon-Ley leads a group of high ranking wizards from the University of Craft and Thought and the College of Wizardry on a visit to New Ivrea. The Chancellor gives a speech promising help from the Halls of Magic in evacuation and damage control. However, he also emphasises that the magical institutes would use offensive magic only in self-defense. After his talk, Belimirar meets privately with several community and religious leaders.

Tekuna meets with Master Cederic to discuss his dismal performance in handling the gnollish raids. Cederic is "reassigned" to Feroll. To counter the increasing gnollish raids on travellers between Ivrea and Outreach, the Rotan Merchant Guard offers its members a bounty on any gnolls killed or captured. Kyra Jess'a pledges her support for this bounty. (Rumour has it that Tekuna and Kyra have agreed that in return for her support for the bounty system, Kyra will nominate some of her strategic contacts in Outreach for 'complimentary' membership of the RMG.)

11:15
In Feroll, the number of Jarron Tilessin's followers reaches 500.

The first group of diplomats graduates from the diplomatic corps in Outreach. A group of these graduates is sent west, towards the enigmatic nation of Sunhaven.

Pretending to be Darryn Moltoy, Damalanthas pays a visit to Lucio in Meldora City. Lucio is known to be a staunch supporter of the Simipia trading Houses. After this visit, the bard heads north to Feroll.

Upon reaching Feroll, Damalanthas tries again to get the Disk of the Far-Sight to operate, but again has no luck. He feels an unusual resistance to his efforts that he has not experienced before. Trying a different tactic, the bard is able to use the mirror in the Hall of Records to locate the Li'kik'r and The Hood. As with the time he viewed them through the Disk (see Timeline entry for 2705:10:22), the two are together. They seem to be engaged in conversation with a third figure. Before Damus is able to focus the mirror on the third character, something causes the connection to break and the mirror once again shows only the bard's reflection.

Suddenly, Damalanthas is aware again. He senses that there has been a period of time during which he was not aware, but he does not know how long. He floats. For a long time he senses nothing. Then there is a gentle touch and a whispered question: "who are you?"

11:16
Jarron Tilessin and his band of followers reach Kóreme. Jarron gives an enthralling speech in the central market. Shanna Bellion, an agent of the Church of Artafor joins the group when it moves on from Kóreme.

Secretly, Souriin and Euvgeni begin transporting some crack troops from Outreach to Feroll, to bolster the city's militia.

In a quiet ceremony, Owen sanctifies a small, isolated mountain grove a few miles away from New Ivrea. Here, together with the aarakocrans he has befriended, Owen plans to establish a centre of balance and neutrality. After the ceremony, Owen sends some of the more adventurous bird-men out into the world, with instructions to find people and creatures who wish to learn more about the balance.

During the ceremony, a magnificent giant eagle approaches the grove. Once Owen has finished the ritual, the creature speaks to him. It wishes to pledge its support to Owen, but has a favour to ask him in return. It says that the animals and birds living in the region know that the humanoids are preparing for a great war. The eagle wants Owen to make sure that thought is given to protecting the four-legged and winged neighbours so often over-looked by humans.

11:17
Flash takes some time out from his efforts to establish an Archery College near Ivrea to lead a series of attacks on Pierce Runtar's wagons. The quixotic elf and his men target the most valuable of the House of the Roaring Tiger's trade lines between Simipia and Meldora.

Souriin checks the hidden caches of skeletons placed in northern Ivrea by Project Deathwatch. None of the locations seems to have been disturbed in any way.

In Outreach, Kyra organises a large birthday celebration for Euvgeni. She claims that it is mainly to uplift the morale of the troops in Outreach, and that Euvgeni is duty-bound to at least pretend to enjoy the festivities.

Vonor Perez, leader of one of the largest way stations between Rotan and Outreach, makes sure that the gnolls know that a bounty has been placed on them by the Rotan Merchant Guard. His message also hints that if the gnolls stop attacking RMA and Outreach caravans, the bounty will be suspended.

11:18
The Elders of Feroll gather with King Loren, Souriin, Euvgeni and Grumplin to discuss Jarron's progress. His forces have already reached 3500 in strength.

Damalanthas and Roleen visit Jarron's camp. Roleen captures Helena Thornfoe -- one of Jarron's closest confidants -- and takes her place.

In Pirs, the Marine Traders' Consortium Launches the first of a new type of vessel, the Broadship. The first one is named Pride of Ivrea.
 

Tekuna pays a "friendly visit" to Pierce Runtar in Simipia.

Ammandor, a high-ranking member of the elven Forest Watch and one-time travelling companion of the Lords, arrives in Rotan. The woodsman appears extremely tired and is still recovering from some serious injuries. He brings a lengthy message from Veros Paithen (the elven ambassador to Rotan recalled five months earlier). The message is addressed to King Anwell and the Lords.

The essence of Paithen's message is as follows:

• The situation in the elven lands has deteriorated and continues to worsen by the day.
• The elves are losing their war against the snake-men; bands of snake-men warriors have reached elven settlements just days away from the capital city -- Miris és Lirias-Tora.
• King Ter-shai's health is also deteriorating. In theory, this should leave young Prince Renn Ter-shai at the helm, together with his wife, Princess Penellior.
• In practice, the state of emergency caused by the war has allowed the King's brother -- Jorune Thor-shai -- to seize control. He enjoys the support of many of the more conservative elven families, who support his views on elven supremacy and isolation.
• Paithen believes that the Prince and Princess are effectively under house arrest in the capital; The elven King is also in the "care" of Jorune Thor-shai, and Jorune is "issuing commands on his behalf" while he recovers.
• Paithen also suspects that Jorune has been smuggling unusual creatures into the elven city. He mentions an "incident" a few weeks ago, when a horrible mutated creature escaped from captivity within the elven capital. The incident was hushed up by Jorune's agents.
• Veros Paithen also suspects that Jorune attempted to form an alliance with Sunhaven against the snake-men, but is unsure if this was successful. As far as he has been able to tell, Sunhaven's troops have only moved to protect Sunhaven's borders, and have not engaged the snake-men.
• The ex-ambassador now fears for his own life and may attempt to flee the capital soon. He hopes that King Anwell will look kindly upon any request for assylum.

Tekuna, Belimirar and two mages from the University attempt to make contact with the nation of sea elves living in the ocrean off the Ivrean coast.

Word reaches Griffon Keep that the Elven Kingdom has declared the half-elf Damalanthas Quithas to be "persona non-grata". The reason given for this proclamation is that Damalanthas violated Camanthalar's tower after his death. Under elven law, when a noble dies with no heirs, all assets and property belong to the King. Under the guidance of the noble families, the assets are redistributed (or sometimes destroyed). This is (allegedly) to ensure that certain elven knowledge does not fall into the hands of the unprepared younger races.

The RMA intercepts a letter to Swaine Lynch-Shai (Flash's little-known elven name). The letter bears King Ter-shai's seal, and expresses the King's thanks to the elf for his part in reporting Damalanthas' desecration of Camanthalar's tower.

Harmony Sweetsong publishes the War Report.

11:20
General Panagiotis resigns his position as head of the Outreach Military, to take on the position of High General of Ivrea, by appointment to the Ivrean Council.

Jarron Tilessin's forces, now numbering 4000, reach Feroll City.

Souriin and Grumplin travel to Pirs to talk to Cecil, a government representative. With some persuasion, Cecil agrees to transport food to Feroll by sea.

Owen's aarakocran messenger arrives back from the Runic Lake, exhausted. The bird-man brings news that although the wood elves are moving rapidly towards the Runic Lake, the druids will almost certainly not be able to maintain the Troll Shield until the elves reach them. The Shield will most likely fracture sometime within the next ten days.

Tekuna and Belimirar make contact with the sea elves. They encounter a small patrol of the elves, one of whom fortunately recognises Tekuna from her previous visit. From their conversation with the elves, the expedition establishes several things:

• The sea elves have been devastated by war with their traditional "enemy" -- a race of powerful humanoid creatures residing to the north.
• Over the last few weeks (possibly months) the enemy has moved southwards into elven territory. This has lead to violent conflict and many sea elves have been driven away to more remote territories.
• A group of fast-moving scouts was recently able to outflank the enemy forces, only to discover an even more violent war between the enemy and some other aquatic army much further north.
• From the elves' description, Tekuna and Belimirar agree that the creatures at war with the sea elves' "enemy" are the arctic trolls.

Flash is crushed by a wagon when Pierce Runtar sabotages one of his own caravans. Souriin rescues the elf and takes him to Sepyt Niam to recover.

Led by the Mirrored Soul Regiment, Jarron's forces clash with the Feroll militia and the elite Outreach troops.

Damalanthas takes Jarron to speak to King Loren and Grumplin.

Claris makes an attempt to steal the Sceptre of Office from Feroll's traitorous Minister of the Treasury. Jarron calls the Sceptre to him, foiling her attempt.

In the Feroll Halls of Records, Jarron is absorbed by the Sceptre. A wave of peace washes through the streets of the city and the Walking Dead are seen by the living. Sages hail this as evidence that a time of miracles is upon the lands.

In the aftermath of the clashes in Feroll, the entire Mirrored Soul Regiment vanishes mysteriously.

Game 26: The Rescue of Artak of Triscoh

11:21
That night, several of the Lords have fractured dreams of Lord Artak of Triscoh, now missing for many months. The next morning, the Lords are only able to remember fragments of their dreams, which seem to be a mixture of real memories of their companion and visions of events they did not witness...

• Artak sitting at his work bench at Dragondale, mixing bubbling containers together.
• The opening of Artak's Apothecary in Rotan city, with the herbalist standing proudly by.
• Artak, sporting a cleanly-shaven head, at Sepyt's 75th birthday celebration. Conversations with him about his decision to travel north, to trace the origins of the smoke-powder.
• Artak meeting a strangely familiar Tel and conversation about the city of Zennor to the north as the source of the powder.
• Images of a city -- destruction, decaying bodies and the stench of death everywhere. Artak sorting through the rubble for any clues to the reason for the destruction.
• An ambush; Artak, paralysed and helpless, watching as his travelling companion -- a young woman -- has her throat slit by a figure cloaked in unnaturally dark material.
• Hazy visions of a sneering elven noble standing nearby as two dark figures plumb Artak's mind and fill him with fear and horror.
• An image of Wanwier, Artak's twin brother, strapped in a chair, being tortured. Artak's determination to resist his captors fading with his brother's screams.
• Artak, his spirit broken, helping two dark-cloaked figures inject a young elf with a glowing, vile-smelling liquid.
• An enclosed chamber with a massive crystal in the centre -- Artak, once again magically held, watching as the same young elf is forced inside the crystal structure. Chained to the crystal by long fibrous glass structures are five more elves -- each wears a metallic skull-cap to which the glass fibres attach. As Artak watches, one of the dark figures injects each of these elves with a blue liquid.
• A sense of inhuman horror as the elven victim's body bloats and changes inside the crystal. Finally, a horribly mutated form is spat out and collapses to the floor.
• Artak sobbing himself to sleep in a tiny enclosed room. Wanwier, sitting next to him, trieds to comfort his brother.

Although the Lords have some brief discussions, they are interrupted frequently and get little done. In the mid-afternoon, King Anwell speaks to them via the message tubes. A young elven wizard named Iluria Shenil has brought Veros Paithen (previously the elven ambassador to Rotan) to the city, seeking assylum. Veros has been very badly injured -- one of his arms has been melted off. Iluria says that the situation in the elven capital is very dire. Much of the upper part of the city has been destroyed and "es ilut" (elven for "twisted ones") are loose.

The Lords discuss this new development. Damalanthas uses his magical abilities to determine that there is definitely a connection between Artak and the collapse of the elven capital. Damalanthas, Flash and Euvgeni decide to travel to Rotan the following morning to question Iluria.

11:23
After arriving back in Rotan, the three Lords question Iluria. They discover a few new pieces of information:

• The elven palace has been partially destroyed. Iluria is not sure if King Ter-shai is in the palace or even if he is still alive.
• She and Veros had been trying to get to the palace when they were attacked by some sort of flying creature. Miris is blanketed in thick fog (not unusual for this time of year), and it was difficult to see exactly what the creature was.
• They took shelter in a nearby building, but were attacked by a two-legged creature. It squirted acid on Veros, destroying his arm, but Iluria was able to fight it off and teleport them both to Rotan.

Shortly after their arrival, the group is attacked by one of the two-legged, acid-spitting creatures. They are able to drive the creature away, but are then forced to take shelter beneath a tree from one (or possibly more than one) of the flying creatures.

Damalanthas decides to use his magic to transform the group into air and they rise above the fog and move towards the palace. Soon they are close enough to see that one of the four massive corner towers has collapsed inwards onto the palace. Flash is worried about his family, so they leave the palace and travel on to the sector of the city inhabited by Flash's relatives.

There, they encounter a group of elven woodsmen who have just killed one of the two-legged beasts. One of the woodsmen is a cousin of Flash; Lorias Lynch-Shai, son of Marlisan Lynch-Shai. The Lords talk to Lorias and learn that most of the residents of the city have fled. There are just a few bands like them, searching the city for survivors.

The ground trembles and the group hears a muffled crash in the distance, as if another large building has collapsed. The Lords decide to return to the palace, and agree to meet Lorias and his band there later.

Once at the palace, the Lords see that the collapsed tower has opened up a path down to the cellars beneath the palace. Cautiously, they descend and begin to explore.

They are soon confronted by a pair of strange rumbling creatures, which attack using different sorts of sound waves. A frantic battle ensues, but the Lords are eventually able to kill both creatures.

More cautiously, they explore more of the tunnels beneath the palace. In one chamber, Flash senses a secret door which opens to reveal several seemingly abandoned treasures. A little later, Flash finds another doorway hidden behind a tapestry. This leads to a staircase spiralling downwards.

Exploring the area at the bottom of the staircase, the Lords hear noises behind one of the doors. Euvgeni stands to the side of the door, ready to attack while Flash pulls it open. As far as Euvgeni can see into the room, it is filled with two-legged spitting beasts. Euvgeni's shouts of "Close the door! Close the door!" are quickly heeded, and the Lords slam the door shut as some of the creature start battering it from the inside.

There is another rumble, quite close this time, and clouds of dust billow down the corridor from the direction of the spiral stairs. The Lords move back towards the stairs, but find another one of the rumble-creatures blocking their way. This one seems larger than the two they encountered earlier, but with no other way out, the Lords are forced to fight it. They prevail, but the strain of their battles is beginning to show.

Investigating the stairs, they discover that the latest rumbling has opened up a hidden passage into a new section of the underground warrens. Moving through the gap, they find a pair of massive metal doors, which are both barred and locked. As they investigate, they hear some cries from a little further on. They hurry towards the sounds, just in time to see a palace guard being finished off by yet another of the rumble-creatures.

The Lords decide to move past the passage where the creature is, but it detects them and turns around. They decide to hold their positions and try to surprise it as it comes out of the corridor, but the creature also adopts a waiting strategy, lurking a short way down the passage.

In the distance, Flash spies someone opening the metal doors, but the rumble-creature is now between the Lords and the doors. After some hurried discussion, the Lords make a run for it, but reach the door moments too late -- the figure has locked the doors behind it. Worse still, the creature has now emerged from hiding and is pursuing them.

While Euvgeni and Flash move towards the creature, Damalanthas uses his magic to see inside the chamber. He is shocked to see a Blight Crystal and an elf matching Jorune's description walking towards it. The ground and walls of the building shake and heave once more and it become obvious that staying underground much longer will place the Lords in grave danger.

Euvgeni decides to make an all-out attack on the rumble-creature, and a violent clash ensues. With assistance from Flash, Euvgeni fells it, finally decapitating it with a massive swing of his sword.

Flash moves down the corridor to the spot where the guard was standing. He finds a locked door, but can hear banging from the other side. Thinking surprisingly clearly (especially for Flash!) he rummages through the guard's remains and find a small silver-coloured key. He opens the door and finds both Artak of Triscoh and his twin brother Wanwier inside. The twins are weak and in ill-health, but are very pleased to see Flash.

Flash takes the twins to Euvgeni and Damalanthas. The bard's magic isn't powerful enough to transport all five of them into the locked chamber, so Artak and Wanwier agree to remain outside while the others take care of Jorune. Damanathas transports himself, Flash and Euvgeni into the chamber. On the walls of the chamber hang five manacled elves, each wear a skull-cap attached to the crystal by a long glass-like strand. They are just in time to see Jorune step into the crystal.

As the horrified Lords watch, Jorune's body behind to bloat and change. Unsure how to stop this process, Flash and Euvgeni begin slicing through the glass-strands. As each one breaks, the manacled elf it is attached to screams and then falls limp. While they are busy, Damalanthas opens the metal doors to the chamber, so that Artak and Wanwier can enter.

The rumbling all around them becomes a constant hum, and chunks of stone start to plummet from the ceiling. Flash severs the last of the glass strands and Jorune's body -- which now looks like some sort of giant slug creature -- freezes inside the Blight Crystal.

One massive piece of falling masonry bounces off the giant Blight Crystal itself, and the Lords decide that they have no time to lose. As the dungeon collapses all aroung them, Damalanthas speaks the words of a magical transportation spell and the group teleports back to Rotan...