Timeline of Root of All Evil

The game Root of All Evil began in August 2012. This is a timeline of events so far. It features player characters Whisp, Kali, Toofi, Futch, Ostardva, Gieve, Doe, Ena, Mercius Vile, Loess, Rabbit and Gazebo.

Three Months Prior
Approximately three months prior to Whisp, Toofi and Kali arriving in Oakedge, Futch had been living with his master George Prime in a small cabin near Oakedge. They had travelled to Ehrian in search of pieces of the famed morningstar Verserk, a large part of which Prime had already discovered. Prime left to consult with sources in the Dragonflight Union and, while Futch was out gathering food, goblins stole the pieces of Verserk which were being kept in a small chest.

Futch gave chase, passing dragonborn paladin Ostardva who happened to be in the area, and Rabbit and Gazebo, who also joined the chase. The box was retrieved from the goblins but tiefling Nynga Murdergrave, identifying herself as an agent of Orcus, attempted to take the box by force. Through subterfuge the adventurers were able to take the pieces of Verserk safely away. Each member of the group went their separate ways.

Before Ehrian
Whisp, Kali and Toofi met on the boat to Ehrian. They had not known each other prior to this voyage. Each came for a different reason. Also on the boat was Victor Junn.

The party fought, and defeated, a Hydra; Victor instructed them to take on one head of the Hydra which was menacing the captain, while he dealt with the rest of it.

South Porton
The party landed in South Porton, a large city on the south-west coast of Lyria. Almost immediately they become involved with a criminal group there, the Porton Pirates, performing legitimate business concerns for them. Through the Pirates they were able to clear a stronghold overrun by kobolds, retrieving a device for the SIC and destroying a blue dragon named Szatharrax, with the help of a wandering cleric named Jennifer. The dragon, on its death, swore vengeance on behalf of the Dragonflight Union before its body turned into blue light which blasted out through the ceiling.

Returning to South Porton, the adventurers were directed to a nearby lighthouse which represented financial gain for the Pirates; the lighthouse turned out to be abandoned and overrun with ants which the lighthouse-keeper, Alvor, had been hoping to sell in a get-rich-quick scheme.

Black Jake, the Pirates' leader, gave the party a coin with PP inscribed on it as a means of getting word to the pirates, and entreated them to make contact with the Porton Pirates stationed in Fennica who had dropped out of communication. He also suggested they find a wizard named Sholtar who may have information pertaining to the Dragonflight Union. After again meeting, and conversing with, Victor, the the party set off in the direction of Fennica, attaching themselves to a caravan which was heading to Oakedge.

Oakedge
The party arrived in Oakedge to find it in the grip of madness; during the night the populace ran riot through the streets. Through questioning and investigation the party discovered that the One Tree priest, Father Liam in town was not who he appeared to be, and was corrupting the Tree there to his own ends. When given blood, the Tree grew fruit which, when eaten, inspired madness. The party defeated Father Liam and revealed him to be a Dryad.

The next morning Toofi, Whisp and Kali were joined in the Mayor's office by Futch and Ostardva, both of whom had been caught up in the madness due to unfortunate timing. They agreed to group together to take news of this to the High Father in Fennica. Left with a spare day before moving out, the party sought out the target of a bounty posted on Oakedge's village noticeboard to kill the unicorn that lived in the nearby woods and bring back its horn. On tracking the unicorn they discovered that it was, in fact, sentient and in fear of its life; named Faran, it gave them a boon for saving its life and letting it go free. Faran gave them a single hair from its tail and told them to summon him only in times of greatest need.

The party left for Fennica the following morning.

Dunmarket
The party passed through Dunmarket and were approached by a small boy, Tommy Lowell, who explained that he is the son of the town's Dunnyman, Richard Lowell. Checking at the Guard office revealed that the Captain of the Guard was not able to help due to animosity over the tame Gelatinous Cube that cleans the sewers having killed his son.

In the sewers, the party discovered Richard Lowell with an injured leg. Kobolds had infested the sewers and Bessy, the Gelatinous Cube, had been unable to do her job. The party lead Richard out, baiting the kobolds into the path of Bessy at the same time, and also managed to find a dagger in the kobold hideout with the Captain's crest on it.

The Captain accepted that kobolds had killed his son, not Bessy, and told them the story of a copper dragon that lived in the caves north of John's Retreat who had given him and his son one of his teeth, this very dagger. The dragon was part of the Dragonflight Union.

Rumours lead the party to the windmill on the edge of town to which eyewitnesses had seen a member of Kali's tribe being brought. One key point was that the woman who lead the slaver band bringing the goliaths through was tall, lithe and wearing spurs on her boots. The windmill was owned by ex-SIC tiefling Professor Ingris Verstadt who was performing experiments to try and create perfect flesh golems. The party interrupted his work and killed him, freeing Summerchild. The goliath child explained how they had been put to sleep and brought over the sea, then forced to walk a long way. The others had been taken away past the windmill when she had been left.

Summerchild, too weak to journey, stayed in Dunmarket while the party moved on towards Fennica.

Hillrest and Madame Mercurio's House of Pleasure
The adventurers travelled through Hillrest, where all of the men were missing and young men left town as soon as they were of age. The women seemed happy with this, however, and the party left town the following morning, accompanying Efric, a young man. Efric left the party at Madame Mercurio's House of Pleasure, a large mansion several miles to the west of Fennica, leaving the party members to enter Fennica.

There, the party were granted an audience with Reynolds, the Duke's advisor. To gain his favour, he asked them to arrange for some important documents to be retrieved from the House of Pleasure. Lady Lyra Fennic also asked them to go to the House, as she was working undercover there to try and find out the cause of her father's illness.

Going to the House, each party member had some sort of romantic liaison except Ostardva, who went with Lyra and waited for night. The party members were able to discover that Madame Mercurio was a succubus. She struck a deal with them rather than risk being destroyed: A paladin by the name of Lord Malfis has been killing peaceful and reformed 'evil' beings in the area through magical means. His removal would grant the party information and the documents they need.

The party were able to find out that Lord Malfis operated out of a tower owned by the tiefling wizard Sholtar who was creating stable portals for Malfis to pass through, perform his kill and then return with the spoils. Sholtar was not doing this willingly, having been captured and forced into service. The party killed Malfis by arranging for a portal to be opened three miles into the sky and tricking him into entering it, dropping him. Sholtar was freed and the party were able to retrieve the information they lacked from Madame Mercurio, albeit at the expense of having their memories of her being a succubus locked.

Fennica
The Duke finally agrees to see the party. He has his advisors, Lord Reynolds, Paladin Rennin and High Father Hork, with him. However, he is mad and arbitrarily imprisons the party. Toofi is given to two bounty hunters, Rek and McInnis, who have been hunting her since before she came to Ehrian, and she is magically manacled and stamped with a magical seal.

The party break out from jail with Lyra's help and make it as far as the palace walls before an enormous wooden pyramid erupts from the ground underneath them. The party journey into it.

The Wind Hold
The pyramid is revealed to be a series of interconnecting chambers made of living wood. At the heart of it a green spring bubbles up; also in the room is a sphere. On defeating the chamber's guardian, an enormous bone scorpion, the party witnesses a recording left by the creator of the Wind Hold, an image of an old man who explains that he is a representation of the One Tree calibrated for mortal understanding. It is interactive and able to answer some questions, although it explains that this is the first Heartwood Hold and others, created later, will have more answers; alternatively, the Central Nexus, at the base of the One Tree, would hold all the knowledge.

The sphere is identified as the Sphere of Accelerated Entropy, created as a failsafe should a situation ever occur where the One Tree is forced to work against the mortals of Ehrian. It is designed to destroy the five regional One Trees which are actually roots of the main Tree. The sphere needs only to be doused in the spring and it is ready for use.

The First Root
Lyra explains that she believes High Father Hork is poisoning her father; she shows the party to a passageway he uses that extends under the One Tree and the party break in, working their way to a chamber directly under the Tree. The tap root of the Tree extends down into the ground, presumably then extending all the way to the main One Tree in the centre of the continent.

High Father Hork is sacrificing people to the root, trying to use their blood as a catalyst similar to how Father Liam was; it doesn't work and Hork brings in a Goliath from Kali's tribe to sacrifice, citing the need for 'strong blood'. The party attack; Hork escapes through a large portal, being replaced by a white dragon who tells him that the business of the Union will continue. The portal closes, but not before the party see red rock in the room beyond the portal, known to be a feature of the country of Zar. With the aid of Faran the unicorn, the party defeat the dragon; Futch uses the Sphere of Accelerated Entropy on the root, which destroys it, and falls unconscious. From this point onwards, his fingers begin to numb from the tips, on both hands. The dragon, once defeated, turns into a ball of light and leaves through the ceiling.

Lyra agrees to come with the party and Lord Rennin gives them horses as they leave for Zar.

Jennifer, Sholtar and the Airship
The party make camp a few miles north of the city; Jennifer, the wandering Cleric they met previously, meets them and identifies strange creatures on their head of magical origin that they have been unable to see. She puts them in a trance and they find themselves back in Madame Mercurio's; they fight several ghostly forms and, finally, Mercurio herself. Their memories of the events there return. Going back to the House of Pleasure, they find it to be empty of life; a sludge is all that remains of Mercurio herself. The party now owns the mansion. Lyra suggests that the party make for a cave behind a waterfall in southern Zar where her mentor, Master Phyraxis, may be able to provide some support for Futch's fingers.

Heading further north, the party comes to a bridge where Berik Steamwheedle and Fenrik Ironblade, SIC engineers, are attempting to test Gargorian battle mechs. The party agrees to put them through their paces in exchange for passage aboard the pair's airship, and they take control of the mechs. Ultimately they malfunction and the party is forced to destroy them. Further north again the party encounters Sholtar's tower, now under siege by goblins and bugbears. The party liberate Sholtar and offer him succour at their mansion, which he accepts.

Leaving the horses, the party board the Cloud Goddess airship.

Hallow's Hall and Goatleg
The party made their way by airship to Hallow's Hall, where Whisp met up with her sister Dawn-of-Day. Dawn was on her way to an arena tournament being held in Zar, in the capital of Fjornik, and struck a deal with Whisp; they meet in the tournament, in combat, to decide the status of their family's blood feud. Whisp agreed, then fled with the others on the Cloud Goddess.

During the flight, mercenaries Rek and McInnis, aboard the smaller and faster Sparrow airship, attempt to board and kidnap Toofi. They are beaten back and forced to land.

The airship's next stop was Goatleg; Berik had a deal to make with a businessman there while the party went to eat at the Puzzle Box restaurant. The meal was interrupted by Fenrik and an injured Berik returning; they had been attacked by members of the Growth Movement. The party helped them escape to the airship where Fenrik began to fly the party directly to Jarrika, the nearest airship port facility.

Jarrika and The Waterfall Cave
The party made their way by airship to Jarrika where they are introduced to Jeril Battlebronze, coordinator of the SIC facility there. He rewards them and lets them go freely into the town. The town watch are investigating everyone closely as there have been several disappearances recently; a vampire at Castle Dråpslag is being blamed through rumour, but Captain Dorn of the watch thinks there is a more human element to it.

There, Lyra directs the party towards a waterfall to the south-west, behind which is Master Phyraxis' cave. The party find that the cave was overrun by rats controlled by a pair of were-rats, and find a box which contains a fragment of Verserk. A message for George Prime was triggered which directs the party towards either Fjornik, where Phyraxis is now, or the Giant's Toe mountain in two weeks. Futch left a message for George in return. Meanwhile, Lyra was attacked and nearly killed, but was saved by Kali. Back at the SIC, Verserk was reforged by dwarven magesmith Caleb Ironknocker, meaning Futch was able to wield it. It was still missing several pieces, however.

Castle Dråpslag
On awakening the next morning the party discovered that Lyra was gone, leaving a note saying that she needed to investigate the goings-on at Castle Dråpslag. The party follow her and discover that she has been captured by the forces currently in control of the castle: Nynga Murdergrave, deathpriestess of Orcus and now reduced to being a ghoul thanks to her previous defeat. She is raising zombies and sending them via portal north to attack Fjornik. The party save Lyra and kill Murdergrave. Back at the SIC, a rite is performed on Futch's fingers to prevent whatever is causing them to go numb; after a conversation which took place inside his head between him and a remnant echo of Fennica's Tree, it is revealed that the power from destroying the Tree backwashed into Futch, temporarily granting him abilities he should not have. This power is now gone, and the backwash was concentrated into green thimbles that Futch can use to create a magical wall of vines. The party were invited back onto the airship to complete their journey to Fjornik.

Fjornik
During the flight, mercenaries Rek and McInnis, aboard the smaller and faster Sparrow airship, attempt to board and kidnap Toofi. They are beaten back and forced to land.

Landing safely in Fjornik, they disembark at the 50th level. Almost immediately they become embroiled in a minor riot; a man is being arrested by the Watch. A goliath nearby is identified as Kali's aunt, Quietmoon, who explains that the man saved her from Orcus death cultists. The man is High Father Hork. While Kali talks with Quietmoon, the rest of the party interrogate Hork; he explains how his plans were destroyed when Orcus forces overran the Zaran Root, killing his own cultists and forcing him to escape. He saved Quietmoon because he needs her blood. He offers a temporary alliance; he will give the party information and agree to leave Fjornik unmolested if they deal with the Orcus threat at the Root. He also reveals that Lyra is, in fact, a shapeshifter named Etherin. She shows her true form and tries to convince the party that she has changed. She is willingly arrested as a co-conspirator so that the party can leave.

Outside, zombies are attacking Fjornik. The party manages to re-establish the shield that protects all of Fjornik just in time as an immense army of undead try to cross one of the connecting bridges into the city. Master Phyraxis, who had been defending the city as well, lands and introduces himself, but they are cut off as two undead dragons attack. The party defeated one and Phyraxis defeated the other. He takes them to a property he owns on the 5th floor and invites them to the King's Council the following morning.

The King's Council and Varikause
The King's Council meets and the adventurers are sequestered as potential resources. Berek Bloodtooth interrupts the meeting to complain about the Grand Tournament being postponed indefinitely; the King accedes to his demands after ensuring that a portion of the profits from the event will go towards the city's finances. Berek invites the party to take part. The King's Council concludes that the threat from Orcus is rising and needs to be monitored closely.

General Rika sends the party to Varikause, the first village to the south and a key part of any supply or refugee routes should war break out. Varikause is in the grip of a series of attacks by insect-like Kruthik, whose presence is traced to a nearby abandoned mine. The mine has been reopened by Parchik, a bandit, and as a result the Kruthik have been awoken. To add to the problems, the Mayor's daughter has been sent to identify the problem and has not returned. The party dealt with the Kruthik, an infestation that lead beyond the mines and into a dwarven burial chamber. On the way the killed Parchik but allowed one of his band to live and escape. The dwarven Lord Raknisson, whose tomb this is, appeared as a ghost and granted the adventurers gifts from his burial chamber. Returning to Varikause, the party discovered that the Mayor's daughter had returned with the surviving bandit, claiming the credit for destroying the Kruthik. The party returned to Fjornik where word of the village being saved had already reached Rika. He congratulated them on a job well done.

As the party go to the next King's Council meeting, an evangelist for the New Gods is playing to a crowd in the stairwell at Fjornik, almost causing a riot. Tension between the followers of the One Tree and the followers of the New Gods continues to rise.

The King's Council meets and decides that, if war is inevitable, the people need something to rally behind. The party is chosen as the public face of the Council and, as 'The Outlander Initiative', is tasked with increasing their public recognition.

The Grand Tournament
Futch, Kali, Toofi and Ostardva sign up to the Grand Tournament as both single combatants and, with Whisp, as team members. The party train in the Arena. began their series of fights; Whisp attempts to spread rumour and discord, as well as place bets on the outcome of the matches. The tournament begins. Succeeding through to the second round of the singles event, Toofi, Kali, Futch and Ostardva discovered Whisp had gone missing while spectating. Whisp, meanwhile, had been drugged and kidnapped by Drusilla Murdergrave and Horatio Bigtallow III. She escaped along with Dawn, who had also been kidnapped, and the two of them uncovered a plot to poison and zombify much of the city's populace through poisoned wine. Dawn agreed to work with Whisp and her group for the duration.

The second round of fights proceeded as normal; however, Dawn crashed out in the second round, attacked by some sort of evil energy emanating from Horatio Bigtallow's sword. Critically ill, she was taken to the Fjornik Sanatorium by Whisp. Meanwhile, Ostardva failed to make it through the second round and left the arena to repair his armour, damaged in the fight. The remaining portion of the day was taken up with exhibition rounds. After the audience had left, the party sneaked into the competitor housing at the arena and killed the two half-orcs and single orc guarding the wine barrels. They then destroyed the wine tuns and, almost being caught by Berek Bloodtooth, managed to escape with a sample of the wine.

On the day of the Singles final, Berek informed the party that he knew they had destroyed the wine and accepted their reasoning for it, telling them to be careful of Bigtallow. In the competition itself, two rounds of five brawls took place on the modified arena floor which now included a moat of lava around a central island. The six survivors of these brawls went forward to the Grand Final, where the blocks of the arena sank down into lava as they were vacated. During the course of this final round, Horatio Bigtallow, now wearing a silver circlet set with an amethyst, was downed. When Varnassar of Dorth touched the amethyst she was forcibly turned into a dark copy of Bigtallow, while Bigtallow's real body and that of Wulf Brownblade were converted into purple wraith-like creatures. At this moment, Ostardva's connection with Bahamut was severed.

The party fought and defeated these enemies, at which point purple light emanating from the corpse of Bigtallow's copy resolved into a 20-foot high avatar of Orcus. He magically transported the body of Bigtallow to himself, showing an image of the now-imprisoned Bigtallow to the party. He then taunted the party, telling them that Bahamut slumbered and the other new gods would be next, before leaving, magically abducting Dawn on the way.

After the Tournament
Whisp lead the party to the Sanatorium but Dawn was gone, leaving everyone confused as to her whereabouts. Ostardva left the party to visit the Temple of Bahamut on the 66th floor. There he met High Priest Vix, a dragonborn, who explained that the sudden severing of Ostardva's connection to Bahamut was more widespread and had, in fact, killed two priests who were communing with the god at the moment of Orcus' strike. Meanwhile, Toofi, Kali, Whisp and Futch went to try and find clues in Bigtallow's quarters at the Arena; there they found Justine LaCona in command of a small strike team who were collecting some pieces of evidence and burning the remainder. Everyone gathered at a Council meeting where Berek was informed that the group event at the Tournament would be cancelled. He gave the party their reward for winning and departed. The party then heard about the nature of gods. On hearing that undead forces were massing to the north and south, Councillor Loma suggested using the power source at Facility 3, known as the Umberforge Gate, and the King detailed the party to obtain this power for the good of Zar. Kali spoke briefly with General Rika, reconfirming her desire to be a leader within the group and setting an uncertain date in the future to further discuss leadership in general.

The Arrow
Given access to fast sailing ship the Arrow, and its Captain Acaria Nal'Desit, the party were able to get underway towards Facility 3. The night brought odd dreams for all the party; Whisp dreamed of hunting a golden stag, Toofi relived the events that forced her into running, Kali had a strange encounter with her tribe and Futch was challenged by a shadowy version of George Prime to take up Verserk. Ostardva, however, had a conversation with Tiamat. She offered him access to divine power once again, as his own personal belief would soon dry up, in exchange for him performing a service in her name once a year and acting as her champion in this way. He refused, and Tiamat said that she would return twice more.

The Arrow made good speed the following day but was attacked by Rek and McInnis who had commandeered a fast ship, the Abbathor's Wrath. The fight was brutal, ending in the deaths of both Rek and McInnis, as well as some of the crew of the Arrow, and the sinking of the Abbathor's Wrath.

Rek was given a burial at sea after the seal used to magically brand Toofi, and an accompanying letter, was relieved from his body. The boat continued on uneventfully to Facility 3, although Kali began to notice a problem with the wound caused by Luphilderne's teeth in her hand.

Facility 3
Arriving at the Facility, the party was introduced to Overseer Ferox, a tiefling in charge of the entire site, who was concerned that rust monsters were eating through the structure. He, in turn, introduced them to Arkan Raith, a paladin of the Raven Queen. Raith stated that he had been sent here by his goddess in a vision and accompanied the party into the facility.

Inside, they were shown some of the basics of the crystal technology which they had previously seen in use on airships and in other SIC facilities. The entire structure appeared to be built around a wooden pyramid, reminiscent of the Wind Hold, which apparently contained the Umberforge Gate. Without warning the entire base was attacked by forces unknown. Everyone from the control room but Ferox, the party and two assistants had their eyes plucked from their skulls and was subsequently killed. Ferox theorised that it was due to the rust monsters chewing through the failsafe systems and sent the party to replace the crystals on the levels below.

On Alpha level the party saw the grisly end of two orromancers working down there, apparently due to some kind of flying demons. On trying to open the next door, the party was attacked by six mimics who had taken the form of the door and wall.

The mimics gave way to a corridor leading to the crystal machine on Alpha level, and also to Nara McCand; a dwarven orromancer, she gave the party four crystal resonance elixirs. The party was able to connect the Alpha crystal and advance downwards.

On Beta level a portal was open from one room to another which went via another dimension; floating platforms in a hellish landscape populated by bat creatures that were entirely mouth. Toofi was able to navigate the platforms and retrieve a keycard from the pocket of a dead tiefling trapped there. The corridor opened into a cafeteria area where flaming hounds attacked the party. Shortly after this, the Beta level machine was repaired and the party moved down to Gamma.

On Gamma the party was brought into contact with the rust monsters; they were able to burn them to death rather than facing them in open combat, and retrieved an 'access-all-areas' keycard from a corpse. Although the crystal machine on Gamma was fifteen feet in the air, the party were able to raise a crystal and install it before moving down to Delta.

Delta appeared to be consumed by shadow; the party walked into it holding hands and were intially unable to see anyone else, though they could feel them. Toofi, reacting to a spectral image rising from the floor, released one of her hands to get her sword, separating the party. Raith's hand was also released. The party, each of them as if they were the only person present, were given a vision of a moon approaching, directly in their path; flames licked around it as it came closer. It opened up like a mouth, splitting from side to side, and swallowed everyone.

The party woke up in a room with a picture of a beholder apparently drawn in blood.

Blood also soaked the floor and walls up to thigh height. The room began to go through a series of bizarre traps, each one ending in the death of the entire party; the ceiling crushed them, the walls closed in, spikes came up from the floors, the floor opened onto a bottomless pit. In every event the party was brought back to the room, prone but otherwise unharmed. The party was then attacked by a flame demon who walked in through the wall.

On beating the demon, the party moved into the crystal-machine chamber on this level of the facility and, determining that the crystals were in fact something akin to life-forms, healed the broken crystal there and activated the machine. The doors leading to the Fire Hold opened and the party was able to progress.

The Fire Hold
A wooden pyramid like its twin at Fennica, the Fire Hold appeared to be made of wood and coated inside with an amber-like substance to protect it from the intense heat. The party made their way down to the first chamber, correctly activating a large sphere puzzle and gained access to a cylindrical inner chamber. Journeying down the slope (and defeating more flame demons), the party were able to defeat a second puzzle which gave them access to view a cage, in which was imprisoned Fire Giant Princess Fara. Claiming that she had been tricked into service there aeons ago, she explained that the key to her cage had been stolen by a beholder who had then retreated into a deeper portion of the Hold. She promised the party a boon if they helped her. The party descended further into the Hold and arrived at the Umberforge Gate.

As they arrived, something from a different plane stumbled through the portal contained within the crystalline Gate and was immediately destroyed by an eye-beam from a beholder.

The beholder ordered the party to bow down; in return for them bowing down, it would give them a portion of power and set them as the first of its warriors. The party declined and it attacked them. Almost defeated, it retreated into the portal, vowing to return. The party followed.

The Astral Plane
The party found themselves on a wide grassy plane with cliffs either side. Arkan was no longer with them. The curvature of the planetoid they were on revealed that it was small, and the party moved towards the cliff. Finding a natural path up, they saw a tree at the top with several small children playing near it and a larger figure sat under the tree. This figure introduced himself as Yal and explained that they were seeing a metaphor for the Astral Plane, as their minds could not view it as it actually is. He, in turn, was a manifestation of the One Tree and the children manifestations of the gods. Through a series of questions asked, theories posited and answers given, the party came to several conclusions. First, the process of using the One Tree as a power source that was begun by High Father Hork could not be stopped apart from through the One Tree's destruction; Second, Hork and Orcus were merely the first two beings to try and use the power, and others would be drawn to it; Third, Orcus could be stopped at Zar but ultimately could not be destroyed, as that would require a far greater power; Fourth, to enter the dome and destroy a statue being built there for Orcus to inhabit, the party would have to die, although the rings that Yal subsequently gave them would preserve their souls and prevent their bodies from being inhabited by Orcus' minions; Fifth, recruiting or gaining the aid of the gods, both good and evil, would be key to the party's efforts. Ostardva revealed for the first time that Tiamat had offered him power in exchange for service. Kord, introducing himself to Kali as Naki-Uthai, took her aside and spoke to her about faith, particularly in having faith in herself. Ostardva communed with a sleeping Bahamut child and received some Imposter's Armour, effectively hiding his plate armour.

When asked how to leave the Astral Plane, Yal suggested that their way home was about to appear and Madame Mercurios's House of Pleasure appeared on the Astral Plane behind the party along with Sholtar, who had accidentally turned the house into a giant teleporting circle.

Return to Fjornik
The party were able to assist in piloting the house back to within a few miles of Fjornik and discovered, on travelling there, that the city had been evacuated. Only a criminal element remained, given relative leeway by General Rika's troops. The party came across Dan preaching the word of Orcus to a crowd and Whisp castrated him at a distance, though he got away. They were given an audience with the King, with whom they planned how to approach the statue of Orcus. Rika accompanied the party on foot to the edge of the dome where he and an elite team set up an ambush point, and the party passed into the dome. Struck dead as soon as they entered, they fought over possession of their corpses with purple spirits and were able to reanimate themselves successfully.

The Fall of Orcus
Travelling into the dome, the party were able to discover that the cultists of Orcus were, indeed, constructing a large statue and that it was nearly complete. The command team, consisting of Drusilla Murdergrave, Dan, a spectral Dawn and a tall skeletal figure referred to as Gel-Druzad. The latter teleported away after receiving an update on the situation.

The command team had approximately a thousand zombies, ghasts and gargoyles at their disposal. The party, mingling with the slaves, were able to make contact with the deceased Master Phyraxis. After confirming that the slaves had no free will, they began to enact a plan. Futch destroyed the tree; Toofi and Kali prepared diversions; Ostardva killed Drusilla Murdergrave and Whisp brought down the dome, which was being powered by a large crystal in the command tent.

In the ensuing fight, spectral Dawn was temporarily removed from her form; Dan died and was subsequently (and hurriedly) scalped by Whisp; and Drusilla was empowered by Orcus and rose as a zombie hulk, before being destroyed by the party. As the rest of the camp fell into a kind of madness, the statue of Orcus activated after being imbued by power from the now-reincorporated spectral Dawn; however, Toofi had created a blockage in the activation runes and the power went wild. Out of control, the statue advanced on Fjornik and was able to destroy approximately half of it. The party, through climbing and the destruction of some of the runes giving it power, were able to destroy the statue in turn.

The Enclave
Returning to the area around the undead camp, the remaining slaves had regained their free will and were under the interim leadership of Master Phyraxis. Calling themselves The Enclave, they desired the land around the now-dead Tree and asked the party to take their wishes to the King.

The party returned to Fjornik once again to find it already in the throes of clearing. On hearing about the Enclave, General Rika initially suggested their destruction. The King counselled sending an envoy to open discussion and suggested that the party seek the priests of the various temples in Varikause, to the south.

The party moved south and met with Quietmoon, Kali's aunt. She was caring for several orphans swept up in the exodus from the city. Kali gave her the homing crystal for their house and told her to wait for a signal to go and find it.

Rebirth
Finding High Priest Vix, the party were able to make contact with a representative from the Raven Queen's priesthood, namely Tyli Iasty. She was able to return them to life and they spent a night resting at Varikause. Ostardva received a gift from Tiamat through a dream sending, a small statuette of a dragonfly. When used, it became an immense dragonfly mount that was able to carry Ostardva wherever he needed to go.

The following morning the town was visited by Luphilderne and Lady Caern, who met briefly with the Mayor. Kali felt herself being called by Luphilderne in a vampiric sense, drawn to her through the injury she sustained during the fight at the arena which had never truly healed. Luphilderne and Lady Caern invited Kali to dine with them at their estate near Sjerri.

The remaining members of the party headed south, on horseback apart from Ostardva who rode his dragonfly. They encountered the remains of the prisoners being transported from Fjornik as the sun set, under attack by werewolves. Whisp, Toofi, Futch and Ostardva managed to fight off the werewolves, who ran, though both Ostardva and Toofi were infected by diseased cuts, and rescue two prisoners, who escaped. They discovered that Lyra was unconscious on one of the wagons masquerading as High Father Hork, who had made his escape dressed as a guard at the start of the fight. The decision was made to bring Lyra and the remaining guard back to Varikause for medical aid, and the wagon was driven through the night. In the early hours of the morning, however, the wagon was attacked by an owlbear and the guard was slain. The fight continued on as Varikause came into view and, roused from her sleep, Doe (a paladin of Pelor) was able to help deliver the killing blow.

Lyra was given into the care of the temple of Pelor, having temporarily set themselves up in Varikause, and Toofi paid the head of the temple with a small silver statuette to ensure that Lyra would be kept safe. Those party members present then decided to head towards Kali's last known location, Sjerri.

On the road to Sjerri, a large bronze dragon landed near the party and introduced itself as Terranorth. Showing deference to Ostardva, 'The Speaker' for the lady of dragons, Terranorth offered to take the party south to where the fighting with the undead was thickest in exchange for safe return of the egg that Toofi had been safeguarding. Toofi gave up the egg but the party declined the offer of transport, preferring instead to continue towards Kali.

Getting to Penrejk, the party encountered Jill Doe, a sorceress. She explained to the party that she had seen minions of Orcus entering a dwarven tomb nearby in search of artefacts of power, and the following day the party went to investigate. The tomb was indeed overrun by orcs, but some had already fallen foul of the traps at play within the tunnels, while others died in combat with the party. The leader, Ugnut, had been searching for the Ring of Life Eternal, buried with a dwarven king, and had somehow obtained the help of an imp imprisoned in a jar. In exchange for its freedom, the imp was contracted to grant three wishes, two of which Ugnut used to gain entrance to the tomb and to try to slow the party down as he fought them. Jill, obtaining the jar for herself, used the final wish to send the party (and the two remaining living orcs and all the corpses) to where Kali was at that point in time, before claiming the cursed Ring of Eternal Life for herself. Jill became part of the statuary surrounding the sarcophagus to live out her days frozen.

Kali's Adventure
By herself on the way to Sjerri, Kali passed an uneventful two days travel to arrive at the Caern estates as afternoon turned to evening. She was made comfortable at the estate and given dinner, where an unexpected guest was present: The Stranger. A Goliath that Kali had known before her family was abducted, the Stranger went on to explain later in the evening that he had also come to Ehrian seeking her tribe and had managed to find three members, keeping them safe in Sjerri. One had been working as a servant in a mine in Zar; the other two were both in Koru, sold as slaves, and his information seemed to suggest that teams of people could be hired in Koru to gather or clear populace from an area.

Luphilderne revealed to Kali that she would need to obtain a Deathbell flower, grind it up and consume it in moonlight for her vampirism to be lifted. However, the Deathbell blooms only in the heart of the Greenwood, in a place that is holy to the elves who live there.

Kali and The Stranger parted ways the following morning, he heading to deal with a suspected wild Owlbear attack to the east and her heading south towards the Greenwood. The party was reunited by teleportation magic with Kali thanks to the wish made by Jill and continued to journey into the Greenwood.

The Elves of the Sacred Grove
The adventurers, now reunited, pushed on into the Greenwood and soon ran into Noth of the Sacred Grove, who captured them and took them to his elvish encampment. There they met High Father Hork, who had also been captured. Any judgement over the fate of the party, who were accused of invading the elves' land and defiling their trees, was interrupted by an attack from a small raiding band of undead. The party were freed by Elder Thal and proved their allegiance with the elves (and against the undead) by helping to beat back the attack.

Almost immediately after the attack, Kali executed Hork. His body was later buried in the grove of Deathbell flowers, in the elvish tradition.

The party were welcomed into the camp and given information about the situation the elves were in. The undead were attacking at regular intervals, apparently seeking the Deathbell. Kali successfully removed the vampiric stain on herself. Whisp was able to talk to First Bow Faran about his experience with Great Bows. Toofi was able to improvise a sort of smoke bomb with Truthseer Lillia.

After years of isolation, Elder Thal had decided that it was time for the elves to open their borders and sent Maran, a young druid, with the party as they moved on to Ortmund.

Ortmund
Arriving at Ortmund, the party found a well-protected town at siege. They were able to meet with the Duke who was devising a plan of defence with Arkan Raith and Fenrik Ironblade. Arkan suffers a seizure as his connection, and apparently the world's connection, to the Raven Queen is severed. Almost immediately, the party aided in fighting off a surge by the undead. While foot soldiers attacked the walls, the corpse of the red dragon that Master Phyraxis had dealt with in Fjornik landed inside the walls and made battle with the party. Victorious, the party were given rooms and settled in.

Toofi gained new armour from the Duke's wife, Duchess Miriam Ort, while Maran dealt with some emotional issues surrounding defeating crazed undead beasts with the aid of Futch.

The same evening, the party split into two, forming the Defenders (Kali, Ostardva, Gieve, Whisp, Ena and Maran) and the Seekers (Doe, Loess, Futch, Mercius and Toofi). The Defenders were briefed by the Duke while the Seekers were briefed by Fenrik. The Seekers set off on the Cloud Goddess the following morning.

The Twin Emeralds of Pel the Conqueror
The Seekers went first to Lake Ferruko in the far West of Zar. There they were able to retrieve the first component, the Twin Emeralds from the crown of Pel the Conqueror, by sinking a boat to the bottom of the lake to act as a diving bell. As an undead horde destroyed the village, the party were able to airlift to safety the only remaining residents, Ma and Pa McGregor. Ma and Pa set themselves up as crewmembers, cooking and repairing things on the ship. The Twin Emeralds, despite exerting an evil presence on whoever touched the crown, were placed in a magically locked container which dimmed the strength of their aura.

Covenant
The Defenders journeyed south to Covenant where they were able to kill Terenestra, former wife to the Low King of Loknir. They returned to Ortmund after being told by Terenestra that her presence there was simply a distraction, and the real attack was going on at Ortmund. They returned to find the castle town almost besieged and joined the defence. Although they had many individual victories, the besieging army was able to almost complete a circle around the town, leaving only the eastern side unassailed.

Levistone
The Seekers flew on to the Giant's Toe, and to the town of Mountain Distant, to obtain Levistone, a rare and valuable mineral used in the construction of airships. However, the Gaffer explained that no more Levistone would be mined by dwarves due to the high risk of attack by deep-dwelling creatures. Aided by a dwarf called Linnock, the party were able to obtain some Levistone themselves and return to the village. The following day a convoy from the Enclave, lead by Master Phyraxis, arrived to renew the contract for ore and stone in the wake of Fjornik's near-destruction. Futch was given a letter left at the town by George Prime, who spent some days at the village after receiving the message Futch left in Master Phyraxis' waterfall cave.

Forestal's End
The Defenders decided to try and prevent reinforcements coming from Forestal's End, where the undead were still harrying the elves. Using a secret passage, they left Ortmund and journeyed to the village. Ostardva went ahead on his dragonfly mount to give a message to the elves requesting aid. Although Elder Thal was against the idea of leaving the forest, First Bow Faran was able to convince him that an attack might work if they had the party to assist them. They agreed to hide north of Forestal's End and wait for the signal, a whistling arrow which Ostardva would convey back to the party. The party walked into the settlement to find that all of the undead were apparently held in check from attacking them. They met with Akh-Ekh the Disembodied in the village forge, who offered them a deal: a small amount of Deathblooms and the destroyed city of Loknir in exchange for withdrawal of all enemy troops back to Loknir, and the soul of Whisp's sister Dawn. Whisp attacked Akh-Ekh and combat began. The party was outnumbered as the undead from all over the village poured in on them, and it was only the supporting elvish troops that saved them. Maran, however, was killed by the horde. Ostardva disappeared without trace at the end of the fight.

The Elves were able to convey the party back to their village, but they pledged no allegiance to the forces at Ortmund and effectively closed their borders again. The party made their way back to Ortmund through the secret passage.

Memetic Quicksilver
The Components party made their way to the island far to the north of Fjornik to find that it was small, with an almost perfectly-circular crater at its centre. In the middle of the crater was a metallic orb, similar to a meteor. The party made their way towards it and were met by a figure made of silvery liquid able to form itself into any shape. The figure, referring to himself as the Guardian, tested them, exploring a situation where Loess was under the influence of an illness and the party had to physically enter his body to repair the damage. They were successful and the Guardian revealed himself to be the memetic quicksilver. Together with the rest of the metallic sphere, the Guardian flowed into the prepared barrel.

Portals in Ortmund
Whisp, Kali, Gieve and Ena woke to find that Ortmund was under attack by undead streaming through portals. They were able to capture the creature controlling the portal, a small imp called Hobel, and shut the portals down. Meeting with the Duke, he suggested they find a way to reopen the portals and get themselves behind enemy lines where they could meet with forces moving from the western forts. Fenrik, working on the Ortmund side of the weapon that the Components party are putting together, joined up with Ena to try and identify the means for operating the portals, or closing them for good. Whisp and Gieve discover an ancient tome in the library that suggests that Ortmund was once a religious building, then a town called Redemption, before the castle town was built. Below, in catacombs, there was something called 'The Enemy of Life'.

The following morning, the party meet in the town square, ready to open the portal again. They open the portal and pass through it, destroying the power source that was keeping the portals open, and discover that they are approximately halfway between Loknir and Sark, at an abandoned and burned-out inn.

Sark
The party made contact with a small force from the border towers, lead by dwarf Corporal Justin Ven, and were rejoined by Ostardva. The latter had no memory of his missing time, but carried with him the ability to access that memory with others, and would do so later. Together, they assaulted Sark, where General Nicolas Gutter was stationed, and were able to kill him. The undead were hunted through the corn fields and all killed, though at the heavy cost of almost the entire attacking force.

Corporal Ven followed the party back to the burned-out inn and make camp.

The Heart of Sis-Kath
The components party returned to Facility 3, where they found the marooned remnants of the researchers. Lead by Overseer Ferox, they were fighting a losing battle with the ferocious Ugnot, unevolved dragonborn, who claimed that the site was a holy place for their religion. He had the Heart as part of his salvage from the Facility, but it was depowered. The party were able to fend off the Ugnot long enough to leave with the Heart and all the researchers in the airship, heading for Firestorm Forge.

Loknir
Corporal Ven decided to stay at the inn with his men, one of whom was injured, and the party moved on to Loknir. The city was literally half-destroyed, a massive slew of rubble and wood stemming from the very top of the city. There, they talked briefly with the Lich, who suggested that he was created in the party's future, and meet with Justine LaCona, who informed them that she had tracked the traitor on the King's Council. She reveals that it was Loma, the gnome, but that he was working with the Low King, and that together they were responsible for letting the undead into the world. However, things quickly got out of hand and the current threat is not connected to either of them.

The party slay the mutated Low King, find evidence that the undead scourge did indeed start in Loknir, and rendezvous with LaCona. On spirit-eagles which LaCona summoned, they fly back to Ortmund. LaCona takes Loma back to Fjornik, and Corporal Ven takes his men north to try and rally troops at Rekya.

Blade of the Defiler
The components party headed to Firestorm Forge where they found Kirameth involved in research with the Blade fo the Defiler. Apparently dormant for many years, the entity within had awoken and was sentient. It explained that it was Ilneval, avatar of Gruumsh in days gone past. In its service to its god, it had been sealed in a weapon as a 'sleeper agent' against the future battle against the pantheon of good gods. Its awakening now suggested that the world was in peril enough to satisfy the ancient enchantments on its blade-prison. It bargained with the party for freedom after they had finished with it, agreeing to inhabit and power the Heart of Sis-Kath until the undead horde was no longer a threat. In exchange, it would be freed for a limited time so that it could hunt down the descendants of Ragnar, the mortal priest that had sealed it in the blade, and take its revenge. Reluctantly, the party agreed, and the transfer was made. The Sword, powerless now, was slung under the Cloud Goddess and the party made its way back towards Ortmund, Kirameth with them. On the way, it was attacked by the same winged demon horde that had escaped several times from both parties, and succeeded in slaying many of them. However, it quickly became apparent that the demons had destroyed the elven village in the Greenwood and stolen Deathbells from the sacred grove.

Reunion
The hunting party flew into Ortmund to find it under attack from an enormous construct of bone and sinew that had been built in Plainstown. They dismounted their eagles and attacked, destroying it before it could do too much damage. They met with the Duke and Fenrik and discovered that a throne room lay many hundreds of feet below Ortmund, complete with a throne designed for a giant, and that the undead were digging under the ancient magical shield that protected the room from above. They were reunited with the other party, who had just landed, and the beginnings of a plan were formed. Ostardva, Doe and Gieve had been recalled to Fjornik, as had all religious figures, and they began to make preparations for the Cloud Goddess to leave. Ena was deputised to help with the construction of the weapon, and Mercius Vile opted to leave on the Cloud Goddess with the first wave of refugees, as a general retreat was being sounded. Kali, Toofi, Loess, Futch and Whisp opted to stay and aid in the defense, which would culminate in explosives destroying the throne so that it could not be used.

The Fall of Ortmund
Fenrik and Ena completed work on the weapon, a massive Clockwork Dragon. It was powered by the Heart of Sis-Kath and based on the body of the undead red dragon they had previously defeated. Ena, Gieve, Ostardva, Mercius Vile and Doe boarded the Cloud Goddess, preparing to return to Fjornik with refugees. Futch, Loess, Toofi, Kali and Whisp boarded the Clockwork Dragon to take part in the assault on the undead forces.

As soon as the Cloud Goddess lifted off, the Lich made his presence known, blasting it and completely obliterating it. The party attacked using the dragon, making great impact; without warning, the ground beneath Ortmund opened up, swallowing most of the central city and revealing the stone throne below. Sat on the throne was Kirameth, surrounded by the defused barrels of explosive, apparently under the Lich's power.

The Lich revealed that she would be his new mortal form, and began to cast a spell that would send her back in time to begin the cycle anew. The party disrupted the spell, causing several misfires; every time they attacked, they saw a snapshot of history altered forever, but which had already been altered. Loknir was destroyed, setting off a chain of events there; Facility 3 was swallowed by the earth, allowing the escape of the the captive Fire Giant there; George Prime was seen in discussion with two dragons, who were transformed in that instant into the two undead dragons that would attack Fjornik and Ortmund. Finally, the spell was torn off kilter far enough that it backfired and blew Kirameth off the throne, allowing her to regain control. Hanging on by only her fingers, she implored the party to destroy the throne, and fell.

The Lich faded away, having never been created, and lava rose to fill the hole under Ortmund.

The party flew out, on the dragon, and landed a short distance away. Reinforcements from the north, lead by Corporal Ven, had arrived. The party made the decision to free Ilneval, then destroy the Clockwork Dragon by pushing it into the pit of lava. Then they made their way back to Fjornik.