Scales of War Campaign Journal

95677.jpgs of War Campaign Journal
A group was formed, adventurers seeking fame and fortune in their home of Elsir Vale. Drogo the Warforged Fighter, Jojen the Genasi Warlord, Phaedren the Half-Orc Monk, Varys the Deva Wizard, Littlefinger the Gnome Bard, and Lakini the Tiefling Warlock. Together the green warriors sought out the famed Paladin Arizel Storm, former Silver Sentinel and friend of Tyrion's uncle Slade Gunter.

The group made their way to Storm's Keep along the banks of the Stonewash. There Arizel Storm agreed to try the untested adventurers and brought them into the Lizardfolk infested Blackfens swamp. The group bore witness to strange movements in Lizardfolk and eventually uncovered a plot by the new Lizard King Rissen and his poison Mage Srri-locke.

Episode - 1 The Poison Magus
The group tracked many parties of Lizardfolk all headed to the Lost Fort, a ruined keep leftover from the Rhestilorian Empire. Trudging through the swamps the party faced off against Srri-Locke and his Poisonscale and Blackscale defenders. Defeating the Magus the party finds a strange letter from a person known only as The Emissary.

Magus Srri-Locke, As part and parcel to the orders you received from the Glorious King Rissen, and with all honor and permission from His Grace, I humbly request that as you undertake the bold and brave task laid before your most capable hands that you pay particular note to one Arizel Storm. Storm, as you most assuredly are already aware, is the one being that stands between His Grace and a risen Lizardfolk Empire. It would be most unfortunate and altogether alarming if Storm were to escape the clutches of the almighty Lizardfolk.

I pray now for your glorious victory in wiping the warm blooded creatures from that land that is rightly yours. I will visit you again with more supplies after your mission’s success.

Humbly Yours,

The Emissary

Episode - 2 The Road to Brindol
The group returns to Storm's Keep for some well earned rest. After a feast celebrating their victory a rider approaches. It is Alys Oakheart, running from a group of Hobgoblin raiders. Storm sends the heroes off to escort Alys back to Brindol. On the way the heroes come upon an overturned wagon and the dead waynesman, Jorjen Tallfellow; a hafling that works for the Elsir Consortium along with Alys. Alys knew that Jorjen was transporting an important artifact from the War bound for the Hall of Great Valor in Brindol. The heroes track down the raiding party and recover the shield and other items stolen.

Reaching Brindol the heroes return the shield to Ignacious Sertanian at the Hall of Great Valor. They learn the shield was weilded by Slade Guntor during the War. At the Oakheart Inn the next night, Brindol is raided by a huge party of Hobgoblins and the heroes help defend Brindol. It remains to be seen what the full extent of the damage was.

Episode - 3 Rescue at Rivenroar
By morning the fires that raged in Brindol were extinguished. The Oakheart Inn lay in ruins. A city guard approached the heroes with a summons from Counciler Eofram Troyas. The heroes meet Troyas at Jarman's Keep. Troyas offers to hire the heroes to rescue seven citizens that were kidnapped by the Hobgoblins as well as recover items stolen from the Great Hall of Valor.

The party learned from interrogating a captured raider that the hobgoblins were rallying under a warlord named Sinruth who saw himself as heir to the Red Hand. Sinruth had made a deal with the undead denizens of Rivenroar to allow his army to set up camp in the catacombs. The party had the raider draw a map and they set out to Castle Rivenroar.

It took six days, but the party managed to defeat Sinruth and his Wight ally, rescuing the captives and recovering the stolen treasures. Again the party found a mysterious letter -

Brave Sinruth,

The Red Hand will rise again! The other remnants take great cheer in your recent attacks on commerce coming into The Blight That is Brindol.

We’re particularly pleased with your ability to inspire a fighting spirit in others, whether they have true goblin blood or merely wish they did. To be blunt, we think you should have many more soldiers under your command. Many, many more.

And recent events have rendered some remnants leaderless. With a bold stroke on your part, the remnants would rally to the Red Hand you so proudly display.

As your bold stroke, do this: Attack the The Blight That is Brindol by night. Focus your efforts on their Hall of Great Valor, for it mocks the many hard-won victories by the first Red Hand of Doom. Take from them the spoils of war they shamelessly hang on their walls and bring those antiques back to Rivenroar.

Do this before the moon is next full. And with regard to your previous question, turning over captives to your unliving allies at Rivenroar is perfectly acceptable. War sometimes makes strange bedfellows, and we appreciate how you’ve united such disparate forces under your banner. Whatever prisoners you take from Rivenroar you can give to the wight.

Fight with the valor of your ancestors, Sinruth. And keep your hands stained red with the blood of the weak!

I will visit you again next month, at a time of my choosing.

The Emissary

Varys has a vision of some sort when he touches the Platinum Sword, seeing through the eyes of someone standing on a balcony overlooking a garden. In the middle of the garden lies a pond fed by the waters of a river falling from a floating island. Following the river, one can see it flow through a myriad of floating islands until it reaches a huge flying landmass covered in a shimmering shroud.

Another question raised by this event - Why did Phaedren react the way he did when Varys touched the sword? And will he reveal the event to the others?

Episode - 4 Gnomenappers!!
Brindol has changed in the six days the party has been gone. Astrazalian, the City of Starlight, has made it's regular appearance on it's isle in the middle of Lake Rhest, filling Brindol with trade from the Feywild.

The party meets with Councilman Troyas to geet their pay. There they learn that gnomes are going missing around town. Littlefinger takes to hiding behind Drogo's shield, cradled in his arm like a babe suckling a big metal teet.

They return the items to The Hall of Great Valor. Varys discusses the vision with Ignacious who tells him that he and other scholars have investigated the sword and found no magical properties within it. Ignacious promises to keep looking into it.

They retire to the Pentoshi inn. Phaedren provokes a fight with two Eladrin in the bar. They end up dragging them upstairs to their room and torturing them for information. On the way to the room a mysterious woman gives Varys a sending stone. The learn that the Prince of Frost has sent his elite guard, the Winter's Blades, to hunt for a specific gnome. They kill the Eladrin. Littlefinger confesses his past.

Phaedren also tells of his reaction when Varys touched the sword.

They encounter another group, the Lost Ones, hired to hunt for gnomes. They end up recruiting the survivor, a week coward they name Reek.

They believe that Littlefinger is being tracked by means of blood magic. Varys learns of a ritual called Kas' Hidden Blood and proposes they try to find a Vecna coven to have someone perform the ritual on Littlefinger. This leads them out of town to the shack of Zarriksa, a woman they had rescued from Rivenroar.

The Winter's Blades beat them there. After defeating them, Littlefinger finds that the Mage had a pouch around her neck. Inside is a vial, suspended in it is a single droplet of blood.

They found that Zarriksa had been completely frozen.

The mysterious woman contacts the party and warns them away from Brindol, it seems the bodies of mutilated gnomes were found in their room. The woman reveals herself as Natalia Ouvelia and tells the heroes to look her up in Overlook.

Hearing of the call to arms at Bordrin's Watch, and pending attack by a massive Orc army, the heroes head to Overlook. The heroes look up Nat and she performs the Kas' Hidden Blood ritual on Littlefinger, throwing off any use of blood magic made to track him using blood taken before the ritual.

There they also have another encounter with the Lost Ones as they prevent a shakdown at Hap's Exotic Emporium.

Episode - 5 Siege at Bordrin's Watch
On their way to the meeting with Overlook's High Council the heroes find an Elf being attacked in an ally. The attackers turn out to be doppelgangers and the heroes find a hit list. On it are six names - Lakini, Drogo, and Jojen, as well as the Elf and two of his companions in The Freeriders.

The heroes are sent to the Monastary of the Sundered Chain to evacuate the priests there. Instead they find the Monastary overrun with Orcs. The only survivor is a Paladin named Kavad who had travelled to the Monastary to close off the tunnel through the mountains. Though he was successful in closing the tunnel it took the heroes intervention to prevent the Orcs from killing him.

Led by Kavad the heroes travel to the vents in order to reach the Nexus, a point in under the mountains that is designed as a last resort defense, flooding the tunnels with boiling hot water. There they find the remains of the Farstriders, a well known group of adventurers in the Vale. After defeating Tusk, the leader of the Orcs, the heroes are able to flood the tunnels, making their escape into the Stonehome Mountains.