Canonfire!

Fri Jan 04, 2008 5:41 am Barbarian saga concluded

Dear fellow Greytalkers,

Happy New Year. Long time no chat. I have just had a chance to read some of the posts from December, but I have a lot of catching up to do from the school year.

Did some searches on Canonfire, and I'm very impressed by the content we've put together there.

Wish the Living Greyhawk folks would do a better job of putting together summaries of developments around the campaign, but who am I to complain with my trolling.

My long-time gaming group was able to do some gaming this past summer, so here I have a summary of the Barbarian saga concluded. I hope you enjoy.

We'll hopefully get some gaming in today. I'll keep you informed.

Sincerely,

Otto Zequeira

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
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Barbarian Saga

1/582

In the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, the former home of the crone Iggwilf, mother of the demi-god Iuz, Rolando the Minstrel suffered grievous injuries from a monstrous automaton made of earth that would not heal. An unknown benefactor has aided Rolando, Charles Amber will not say who, but the bard awakens each night screaming from horrible nightmares that shatter the peace of your entire stronghold.

Zyron, Myra and Raynos investigate the strange dreams that Rolando the Minstrel has been experiencing. Rolando describes the dreams to the group in confusion at their meaning, and Raynos experiences them through the ESP power he gained in the otherworldly home of the Ambar family but is unable to make much sense of them. The images look something like this:

You see an arc of green color which slowly takes on form and clarity. It becomes a strange, curved, green sword which you see sweeping in an arc and cutting through armor as if it did not exist. You sense that, in the arc and sweep of the sword, there are echoes of the cycles of time, the ebb and flow of the seasons, the bitterness of winter, and the explosion of life in the spring. How such powerful feelings arise from a simple image of a moving sword you don't understand.

Upon further investigation the group discovers that the dreams began sometime around when Raynos and Cil Corin returned to Saltmarsh with the Black Pearl of the Olman Empire and a magical, rune-covered sword with moonstones adorning the pommel. In his studies of ancient history, Zyron seems to remember a reference to a sword like this being held by one of the Suloise houses that escaped the Rain of Colorless fire which destroyed their empire. They take the sword to Charles Ambar to see if he can offer any further information, but he is unable to do so. However, the archmage does refer the group to an associate in the north named Kerasten who knows about such matters, and who may be part Suel barbarian himself.

Ambar also returns to Zyron the Orb of Golden Death, also known as the Yellowskull, which the party had plucked from the Temple of Elemental Evil. He says that he has been unable to delve its secrets, and understands Raynos' concerns that it is a tool of evil, but argues the powers of good sometimes work in inscrutable ways. Maybe the group has been asked to protect the item for a reason that is yet unknown.

Zyron uses the power of the Yellowskull to transform himself, Myra, Raynos and Rolando into pure air and transport them to the City of Greyhawk, shaving weeks off their journey. The party is overwhelmed by the sheer size of the city and the volume of commerce flowing through its streets. They search for their contact and guide to the north in Clerkburg, home of the learned sages of the city, and specifically at the Great Library of Greyhawk. The library is immense, but the group is not allowed to browse its tomes because they have not achieved guild status in the city. They are asked to wait, and their contact, Mallon, is brought to them. She is a nervous, twitchy and shy half-elven wizard who immediately takes charge of the situation when she hears about the sword. Mallon tells the adventurers that they must journey immediately to see Kerasten across the Bandit Kingdoms to White Fanged Bay on the farthest, coldest reaches of the continent, a journey of another couple of weeks, because he definitely can help them with answers to the identity and purpose of the sword.

The group's journey across the Bandit Kingdoms was frought with tension from the start. Mallon described the territory as rough, and this was clearly evident as fellow travellers on the road avoided the party as if fearing trouble. However the journey was uneventful until the group was approached over the crest of a hill by a set of six warriors on horseback demanding their business in the lands of the Lord of the Felreev, a wooded area in the vicinity. The adventurers assured them that they were just passing through, so the riders demanded tribute and began to approach. Suspecting trouble, the party began to prepare for an attack when the female warrior pulled something out of a pouch at her side and flung it at them. The object burst on the ground amidst the group in a feiry explosion, and the warriors dismounted and charged. Luckily for them, all of the adventurers managed to avoid the brunt of the blast, but Rolando was seriously injured. To complicate matters, as the battle ensued, some invisible assailant began to stab at Zyron, who had taken a position at the rear of the party to cast spells at the opponents. The attackers were heavily armored and strong, but Raynos and Myra's battle prowess, Mallon's energy missiles and Zyron's summoned creatures slowly wore them down until they were no more.

That night, Rolando has another dream inspired by the blade Dreamsinger. It goes something like this:

You see a single swan flying high over a deep
green pine forest. The swan glides down on
the air currents, wheeling around to descend
to a glittering, pale blue bay. You sense that
the swan has a purpose and knowledge, but
just what she knows and exactly where she is
heading you don't know.

North of the Bandit Kingdoms roam the Rovers of the Barrens. A small party of Rovers watches the group from a distance as they travel. They are dark-skinned Flannae and nomadic, according to Mallon, and won’t look for trouble unless their territory is invaded. Between the land of the Rovers and their final destination is the Forlorn Forest, and cold and bleak place. Mallon suggests travelling through the forest because skirting it would take an extra few days. The party heeds Mallon’s advice and begins its trek through the forest.

A couple of days into the forest the party hears a sweet singing voice up ahead. Rolando, the only roguish-type character in the group, is sent ahead to scout. He encounters to his horror giant, hideous beings surrounding a beautiful elven female trapped in a cage of magical force and crouching around a huge pot large enough to fit a man. Even worse, the hags and their giant males seem eager to add Rolando to their meal. The crones begin to chant a horrible curse upon Rolando when he feels a burning sensation in his arm. It is coming from the blade Dreamsinger. He feels compelled to point the blade at the hags. When he does so, a blast of fire rips through the air at them. Unfortunately, Rolando’s attack with the blade passes by harmlessly, and he suddenly feels the urge to dig up some truffles.

When Rolando does not return, the party moves in to investigate. They find the giant, misshapen beings clustered around a pig with a moustache that looks a lot like Rolando’s. Cil spreads a web of mystical strands amongst the trees which hampers the creatures’ charge and makes them easy pickings for the party warriors. The wizards then manage to return Rolando to his natural form, although his urge to eat truffles remains strong. Once the crones are dead the force cage around the elf dissipates. The former captive thanks the party for saving her, and, while arming herself with the weapons of a warrior, asks who they are and where they are going. Someone mentions Kerasten’s name, at which she responds, “I know him. A good man. Thank you again.” She then transforms into a white swan which flies away to the north.

It takes another day before the adventurers are out of the Forlorn Forest and standing before the cold, rough waters of White Fang Bay. They can see how the place got its name. The hard action of the waters throw up sharp waves, and many snow-covered outcroppings of rock jut out into the surf. There on one of the promontories lying on the coastline the party finds Kerasten’s small wooden house. The old man, long-haired and bearded with white, is excited to see everyone and seems to have been expecting them. It turns out the the bird-elf that the party saved is a friend of the mage who let him know to expect company. Mallon pulls her master aside to confer, and when they return Kerasten pulls a map out of a large wooden chest and lays it on the table. He says, “The place that we must go to next is here”.

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Kerasten points to a mountainous spot on the map to the east. These are the Griff Mountains. And this is Garel Enkdal. It is a lair of orcs. Stories remain of a barbarian hunter who owned a powerful magic sword but fell battling the orcs here." But the sword Dreamsinger does not offer a clue as to whether you are on the right track until that night, when Rolando is visited by another vision. This time he sees an image of a teeming orc city, and a sword plunged in darkness. The path is set.

Kerasten urges a path along the mountain foothills to skirt Stonefist, a militaritic and bloody people who are related to their Barbarian neighbors. With the mass invisibility power of Zyron's Book of Infinite Spells, the group avoids one group of Fists that is armed to the teeth. Farther along their journey the party encounters a travelling band of barbarians who are crossing the Griffs in the opposite direction. The men are antsy from the start, but when Zyron mentions that the party is headed to Garel Enkdal the barbarians gruffly excuse themselves and break camp. Deeper into the mountains the party stumbles upon open combat. A troop of dwur has been ambushed by orcs in a small ravine. The party splits up and vanquishes both flanks of the attackers.

The greatful dwur invite the party to enjoy their hospitality in their mountain lair nearby. There the clan warchief, , is delighted to hear that the party has met his cousin of the Yatil mountains, and hears the group's reason for travelling through the area. The warchief offers to resupply the group and direct tuem to the orc city. He asks for additional boon. A clan hero was recently killed in an ambush similar to the one that the party witnessed, and he lost an heirloom of the clan, a magical warhammer called Dwarven Thrower. He asks that the party try to locate the artifact if possible. The clan would be indebted to them.

A dwur mountaineer leads the party to the orc city of Garel Enkdal.

The party continues its quest to restore balance to Oerth after they released
the demoness Zuggtmoy from imprisonment. They seek to rejoin the five Blades
of Corusk and call back to the Flanaess the God of the North to counter the
growing power of the evil demigod Iuz, Zuggtmoy's consort.

Our stolid adventurers have gathered two of the five blades and are hot on the
trail of a third deep inside the orc holy city of Garel Enkdal.

The group captures the third of the Blades of Corusk and were transported into the middle of a snowstorm by the three swords. Two more swords must be recovered to summon the God of Winter, Vatun, and counter the increased strength of Iuz the Evil.

Crisen, Zyron and company continue their quest to turn the tide of evil on the Flanaess after they released the demoness Zuggtmoy from imprisonment. They seek to rejoin the five Blades of Corusk and call back to Oerth the God of the North, Vatun in hopes of countering the growing power of the evil demigod Iuz, Zuggtmoy's consort.

The group captured the third of the Blades of Corusk in a temple deep inside the orc holy city of Gareth Enkdal (sp?) and were transported into the middle of a snowstorm and gale force winds by the three swords. Two more swords must be recovered.

The group captured the third of the Blades of Corusk in a temple deep inside the orc holy city of Garel Enkdal.

The three swords transport the adventurers out of the orc temple into a snowstorm and gale force winds. They are on a hillside somewhere. The storm seems almost alive, grabbing and hurting the beleaguered heroes. It was almost certainly summoned by someone or something. The group creates magical shelters to get out of the storm long enough to begin recovering from their injuries suffered in the orc city. But no sooner has the group settled down when Faruk spots a change in the weather.

The wind which was once bearing down on the heroes from the north has changed direction and seems to bend all of its force and snow into an area south of the group. That circulating mass of wind and snow then begins to advance toward the party. Crisen slows the approaching menace with his wand of force while the group’s mages blast away at it and Zyron summons a being of air to combat the thing. Mallon’s wizard eye manages to catch glimpses of the creature, a humanoid-like giant made out of wind, ice and snow fighting towards the party. The attacks of the wizards and summoned air creature blow it to smithereens before it reaches them.

Later that evening Rolando has another dream:

You have only a sensing this time, the sense of
a barbarian King. He bears a great weapon,
one which was borne by another and greater
King in the far distant past.

With this information, the group is able to scry the barbarian and his sword through its crystal balls. It teleports into the barbarian’s throne room, setting up a brief confrontation over the sword. The king sees the other swords that the party is wielding, and says with dismay, “I thought I would be the one who would unite the swords.” Crisen offers to allow the king to join their quest to bring together the Blades of Corusk, and gives him back his weapon. The barbarian gives Crisen a wry smile, and nods in approval.

Zyron spots some runes on the sword and asks if anyone can read them. Kerasten, who speaks ancient Suloise, the lost language of the barbarian’s ancestors, translates them for the group:

“After the fall of the Great God’s empire, the swords vanished from their masters’ hands. Four Blades of Corusk fell to the ends of the world where they shall be found and slowly brought forth to the next meeting. The fifth, and most wary, descended upon the lands where no man lived. Driving itself into legend and myth, Harmony now hides where the River of Frozen Water flows north, waiting for her rescuer. Only I can lead this man to her. Only I can tell her from the stones lying in the ice.”

Kerasten and the king immediately recognize this location. It lies hundreds of miles to the northeast, across the lands of the Fists. The barbarian says that the entire tribe, outcasts due to their unflinching belief in the ruturn of the god of the north, will travel with them for the reuniting of the swords.

The barbarian king is called Kabloona Starskull, the latter name drawn from his visions of a glorious future where the god of the north, Vatun, would return to lead his people to greatness. Kabloona had dreamed that a swan would bring the swords to him, which the party connects with the swan/human friend of Kerasten that they saved at the beginning of their journey north. Kabloona warns that an “Evil One” does not want the swords reunited. He also explains says that the way to the northeast is blocked by the Hraak forest, and that the group may want to consider traveling the long way around, because the forest is populated by ancient enemies of the barbarian people, huge, intelligent wolf-creatures which will no doubt hunt them once they have entered the forest. The adventurers say that they are willing to take that risk. Kabloona gathers his small tribe together, announces what has transpired, and evokes a great cheer with weapons held up in the air from the massed barbarians. The tribe gathers itself with remarkable speed for its journey.

Two days into the Hraak forest, the adventurers note that the tribe is being followed. Reports from the barbarians confirm this, but the hunters stay far away from the hundred-strong group of barbarians and accompanying adventurers. However, after another day, reports of the hunters have increased, apparently along with the numbers following the barbarians. The trap is sprung at a slight dip in the forest. Huge wolves with almost human heads, more than the barbarians have ever seen amassed before, flank the travelers and block off progress before them. They howl with voices that sound more human than dog, and charge, gathering particularly against the barbarians who protect the swords. Ten barbarians go down in the first attack, which the party and tribe combat with fire and weapons. Faruk and Kabloona hack down droves of the giant wolves on their own. The breath of the largest wolves seems to carry with it the deadly power of the coldest winters, freezing another group of barbarians and bringing the wolves before the party members with the swords. The defenders continue their deadly replies and the wolves are brought down, leaving behind only desperate cries of victory from the barbarians who have defeated their ancient enemies.

The party follows Kabloona and the barbarians into the open plains of Stonefist. At least one band of Fists, violent, marauding cousins of the barbarians, approaches the group and turns away upon seeing the strength and determination of the Kabloona barbarians. sees that another group seems undeterred by the host's strength. Another group has been trailing the host since they left the Hrack fokest. It is agreed to keep an eye on this trailing group and continue towards the Frozen River.

Crisen, Zyron and company traveled north from the camps of Kabloona Starskull, accompanied by Kabloona's barbarian tribe, to find the fifth sword of Vatun at a northern, arctic bend of the River of Ice and bring the god of the north back to Oerth. The company hopes that the return of the barbarian god will help check the power of Iuz, the demigod whom they unwittingly strengthened by releasing his consort, the demoness Zuggtmoy, from her prison in the Temple of Elemental Evil.

The party crosses the frozen Hraak forest, known for its dangerous, man hunting animals, and is met by a pack of worg, or giant, malevolent wolves, that is larger than anything the barbarians have ever seen before. The wolves act with evil intelligence, concentrating their attacks on the group of barbarians protecting the party and the swords of Vatun. A dozen barbarians are pulled to pieces by the worg before they and the party are able to disperse them into the forest.

The marchers then head off across the frozen wastes of the Hold of Stonefist. They watch the horizon carefully, knowing that a wandering Fist, the name of the marauding bands of this area, could spot them at any moment in this empty expanse. However, the threat which presents itself is not the Fists, but orcs who have followed the party from the Griff mountains after the group had relieved the sword Stalker from the depths of their mountain city. Crisen's pseudodragon companion, the redoubtable Pipsqueak, detects an orc ambush in the hills up ahead.

More surprisingly, however, Zyron suddenly realizes that the Iuz artifact that he carries with him from the Temple of Elemental Evil, the Yellowskull, has the power to command the orcs to do his bidding. The party opts not to use this option and instead foils the ambush with its arms and magical weaponry.

As the travelers approach the icy turn in the River of Ice where the barbarian chieftain has envisioned the fifth sword to be, Kabloona is pulled off his feet and dragged along the ice by his sword of Vatun, the two-handed blade called the Edge. When the party manages to stop his bumpy trip along the ice, the sword is still pulling back and forth haphazardly. The idea is mentioned to grab the pommels of the sword so that it can act as a divining rod, and, sure enough, the sword resumes its trip along the ice, pulling Kabloona along with it. The Edge stops above a large lichen-greened rock, which, after powerful magic is dispelled from it, turns out to be a disguised, wooden crate. Inside, the party finds the fifth sword of Vatun, Harmonizer, and a completely unexpected obstacle, themselves.

Harmonizer's power duplicates the party to create a deadly rite of battle fitness. In a long, drawn out and deadly dance, half of the party falls before their own weapons and magic until their duplicate selves are destroyed.

When the powdery snow has settled around the bloodied party, they realize that more snow is being sent up in clouds along the southern and western horizons. Large forces are approaching from those directions. All that remains is to free the god of the north, Vatun, but the question is how. The party inspects the run-covered surfaces of the swords, and Kerasten, the barbarian mage and associate of Charles Amber who has accompanied the party, realizes that they spell out the ceremony to bring Vatun back to Oerth. He starts the incantations, and there is a flash of lightning that throws everyone down to the ground. The swords are gone, and standing before the party is a 12-foot tall barbarian flanked by likewise huge wolves. Vatun eyes the approaching armies and smiles.

The party scouts the two armies, and sees that the one coming from the south is once again a humanoid army from the mountains. For the second time, the Yellowskull urges Zyron to use its power to take control of the army. This time, with Myra protesting, Zyron accedes. He turns the humanoids against the Fist army to the north, and the forces massacre each other. Crisen, Zyron & company turn their attentions to the Fist leaders, while Vatun joins the humanoids in tearing into the Fists. The company captures the Fist leaders, and the battle is over.

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