Star Trail: A Reward of Good Will

[Part of the Darklands of Arkania Story.]

With the "stoned" dwarf in tow the team runs out the back exit of the dungeon and right to Elsurion Starlight, who whisks the team and the (stoned) dwarf Prince Ingramosh (since when was he a prince?) away on his boat! After tending to everyone's wounds and "thawing" the dwarven prince, the elf ambassador spends weeks in closed negotiations with the little fellow while the rest of the team relaxes at the elf village.

Victory... In a year or two, I guess?

For their heroic deeds the surviving party members: Braxwolf Storm, Allison Nexus, Dalian Tanker, Cooper Mantly (possibly still frothing at the mouth) and Wolfy Eyes (the only original member to survive the quest) get an audience with the legendary elf king.

It's a very "subtle" smile. Also, the words are really cut there. :P

Their reward is the King's protection and free travel across elven lands. Which pretty much is the same as "nothing" in the grand scheme of things. It's amazing that finding Grimring was actually a more profitable experience! Oh well. At least there is a celebration party for the alliance union - and so our heroes end this chapter the same way they began the quest. Getting absolutely drunk!

Arkania: Two Years Later

[Part of the Darklands of Arkania Story.]

Out of nowhere the giant orc army appears before the party, and Shintar gets to use the speech she had been practicing for two years to challenge the orc champion out to a duel. Orcs are stupid you see - if the champion dies the rest of them scatter to the wind. Her speech works and Lord Garzlokh takes to the field to fight her.

The showdown begins!

Not willing to just be spectators Vayshen and Wolfy make use of the distraction to charge the spectating orcs and get some early hits in, turning the "duel" into an all out battle. Seeing the opportunity to use her new spell "Terror Broom", Voo casts her spell at the orc champion but rolls a critical failure, igniting herself in immolating flames and screaming until nothing is left of her but ash.

At the "duel" itself, Shintar wielding the magic sword Grimring is actually losing! It requires a quick change of strategy so that the champion is getting pounced on not just by her, but by Zubon, Wolfy, and Paeroka who eventually does him in with her axe. Harika and Vayshen desperately hold off the rest of the swarm where Harika's dodging skills are super effective. Things aren't going so well for Vayshen though as not only does his sword break but so does his hand.

Can still do one point of damage with it!

Orc Champion: P0wn3d!

The two are saved quickly after the orc champion falls though, through the same use of focused attacks. Victory is theirs! The orcs flee back to their lands, and the team is welcomed as heroes back at Thorwal where they hand over the magic sword to the Hetman who pays them a measly 50 ducats for their trouble. They then listen to the jazz musical stylings of Elise Einarsdotter at the local tavern while drinking more ale and wondering how best to spend their new found wealth and fame.

Arkania: Hyggelik

[Part of the Darklands of Arkania Story.]

The pirates did make an attempt at stopping the party from leaving not just the cave, but the island itself via ship boarding combat. They are woefully unsuccessful and upon reaching Thorwal the party sells the looted treasure to now sit at over 2K Ducats in the kitty. Taking a guess with the assembled map they headed back North to Phexcaer and along the way Vayshen spots a marker point. A marker to Hyggelik's treasure!

That would be incredibly good spotting.

It is a hard slog crossing the river and hacking through vegetation for days. Zubon and Emmo fall sick from the journey but eventually they find some ruins deep in the mountains - a crumbling castle. Literally, as falling debris and twisted ankles do more damage than the numerous zombies wandering the grounds. There's also a cool puzzle door involving mirrors and separating the party but the main event is a large chamber with a lot of undead.

Enemies all around - just where we want them!

Weakened from the journey here the fight is pretty tough, with Curian getting clawed a lot and Emmo too sick to actually contribute. Still, they are on the verge of winning when a voice calls out to the zombies and orders them to stop fighting. It is zombie Hyggelik, cursed to undeath by some treasure he and his men found years ago. Hearing about the impending orc attack, he willingly hands over Grimring to Shintar and commands the team to protect the lands from the orcish invaders.

You aren't looking so good, Mister Hyggelik.

Arkania: Easy Going

[Part of the Darklands of Arkania Story.]

Satisfied with their performance in the keep, the team decided it was time to find that magic sword - traveling North for a few days outside the city where Augratin's hunting skills kept the party well supplied with food and water. Sister C also took any spare camp time to collect rare flora. Eventually they reached Felsteyn where they met Isleif Olgardson.

Takes around a week on foot.

Isleif was a descendant of the great chief, Hyggelik - the last person known to wield Grimring. He was more than happy to talk about it, and handed over a piece of a treasure map which supposedly led to Hyggelik's final resting place. Apparently more descendants were scattered across the land, and most of them also had map pieces... one of whom was in a town they had passed on the way here!

Back tracking, they found that fellow too - and with a few choice words, managed to collect his map piece as well before returning to Thorwal to rest up and then book passage on a small fishing ship to Varnhome where they hoped to find the third map piece. All up this was pretty easy going!

Arkania: A New Quest

[Part of the Darklands of Arkania Story.]

On the last episode: The team was deciding if they should attack or flee from the King of Denmark.

Sister C's argument won out in the end, as she - Vayshen Panda, Zubon Ratkiller and Augratin Nerdly (site no longer active) managed to find passage onto a ship to take them to the distant land of Arkania and hopefully finally out of reach of the King of Denmark. Eventually they found themselves at the port city of Thorwal where, while relaxing at a local tavern, they met the local warrioress Shintar Winter and Iron Dagger the scraggly rogue.

Tales of a ghost ship and a haunted keep in town rekindled their adventuring spirit, but what truly called to all of them into action was a crier sent by the local Hetman (the lord of these lands) on a most dangerous quest.

Ah, ye olde tavern quest hook.

Scouts report that the orcs from the wild lands were amassing their largest force in history and all signs pointed to invasion. It was up to the adventurers to find a lost magical sword, Grimring, which would somehow eliminate this threat. With only a breadcrumb worth of information in their possession, the party decided to come up with a plan - back the same tavern where their minds could be refreshed with ale.