At the end of adventure 4 (and the play after by email), Prince Ramses had just been killed in a battle with orcs and an ogre, and his right hand man Davar had sent the guards back to the king with his body and horses, and the adventurers had pushed on with him towards the White Hills, and the Seer.
With three days of travel through overgrown fields, rolling hills covered in shrubs, forgotten date and olive orchards, and muddy flood plains, you reached the edge of the White Hills. The White Hills are a towering wall of stone, hundreds of feet tall and miles wide on top, surrounded by miles of forest in every direction. The group made camp at the edge of the woods, lighting a signal fire to the inhabitants to let them know you were coming.
The next day you were met by a group of elves, and Taura talked with them. The elf guide, Camieth, spoke a strange dialect, but Taura managed to barter the group's entrance to the Seer by pledging his peace. Camieth led you up to a camp at the base of the rock wall, then up two tall rope ladders and a 200 foot spiraling staircase, up to the top of the White Hills.
Up above, the land was rich and verdant. Animals, plants and elves lived in a wonderful symphony of nature, and being there raised your appreciation greatly for the beauty of the natural world. You were led forward to a house built into a crop of trees, and met a beautiful young human woman, Charla, who led you in to the Seer.
The Seer was an old woman, human, and well beyond her years. Her eyes bound, she seemed to see you anyway, and she had you speak your tale. Taura started, and Matthias cut to the chase, reciting the words of the Goblins. The Seer became deeply afraid upon hearing them, and had Charla prepare the ritual to open the Tomb of Mortal Knowledge, after which you would be able to see her, and she would require Matthias' clerical services.
The ritual came, with the Seer chanting the Tomb to Charla. At the end, both women collapsed, Charla's eyes were bound, and she was carried away, looking half dead. The Seer had you come forward, and talked briefly while she still could.
"I have opened the Tomb of Mortal Knowledge, and it has consumed me. 'Et Caraba' is of the old speech. It means 'The Coming', yes, but it means more. It is the coming of the Gods, the return of the Gods to the mortal plane. You must seek out the first kingdom. Seek out the first kingdom, for that is the only way that the youngest can be stopped." She then turned to Davar and asked him to bring this news to her son, and she died. Matthias performed the traditional funeral pyre services of a noble, and the night passed. You slept peacefully beneath the stars.
Taura had gotten a lead from an elf to go ask questions to Jozan, an old wizard in the area who knows much, and the next day you found him. He was indeed old, looking to be about the same as a man of 80 years, but he was still sharp of wit. He answered most of your questions with riddles, and gave you many things to think about. You then got a short audience with the new Seer, and she confirmed some of the things that you said, and also said you must get "his crown, for that is the only way he can be stopped". Mentioning that phrase racked her with pain, and she could not continue your audience.
That night you were invited to join Jozan and his family, 6 generations of elves, for a joyous dinner celebration. The joy was contagious, and you passed the night singing, dancing, and trying to learn some elven phrases, and at the end of the dinner, once again fell into a peaceful sleep beneath the stars in this elven garden.
At the end of Adventure 5, you'd reached the White Hills, an elven village of sorts, and had gotten many hints from the Seer and an old wizard named Jozan. You'd learned that "The Coming" refers to the return of the Gods to the mortal plane, and that you must find the "First Kingdom" and the "crown of the youngest god".
After some thought and research, you'd decided that Three Kings, at the Center of Akkadia, is a good place to start, and made your way out. Under Kerrick's direction, you headed south for the Serrus River, reaching the village of North Ford in three days. There, Kerrick secured passage for the group on a halfling ship, which left in the morning. Jeremiah also learned about a group of King's Men who'd rode into town a few days earlier, but nothing else about them.
The Captain of the vessel was kindly enough upon seeing your gold, and the trip went quickly, reaching Enkidor in less than a day and a half. In Enkidor, you decided to seek out the High Temple and their famous library, and after a hefty donation, gained access and searched old texts for the afternoon, but found no answers.
You left the library at dusk, and headed for the King's Castle. There, you gained entrance by claiming you knew Davar, and he came and met you. He was jovial at first, then led you to a quiet room in a guest barracks, and became more serious. Apparently, the High Priestess of Enki (and wife of the King), Shanna, has raised Prince Ramses from the dead, but things are not right with that. Even though the Prince walks, the King still grieves.
At the end of Adventure 6, you'd reached Enkidor and done some research in the library of the High Temple of Enki. Finding no leads on your first day there, you went to the King's Castle, met with Davar, and were warned by him about the King who grieves, and the Prince who's been "healed" after his wounds from the ogre's club.
The next morning Davar came and led you into to meet with the King while he broke fast with his advisors. Inside, you saw him, the prince, 2 men in robes, 2 in armor, and 1 dwarf who looked very out of place. The King looked half the man he was before, while it was the Prince who greeted you, and it was not quite the same warm reception you received before.
The Prince berated you for your failures in the last quest which the King appointed to you. He put you down, insulted you, and wondered why you came to waste more of King Tredor's time. You were permitted to address the King directly, and his mumbled answers did not make your feel any better. The Prince had you summarily thrown out of the Castle, along with the dwarf, Ango, who turned out to be an Emissary from the dwarven lands of Khrad, bringing news from the frontier.
You talked with Ango some, complaining of the courtesy of the King's house of late, and as a group decided to continue on to Three Kings. Chad the ferry man shuttled you across and goggled at the two gold-piece tip that Taura laid on him, but swore to keep his mouth shut about your travels.
After the afternoon and half the next day walking through dry plains, you came upon Enki's Reach, a small village which is the last outpost of the Kingdom of Enkidor. There you found a good inn to rest at, and ferreted around about leads. Another day south led you to Freehome, the first village in the midlands, of about 200 men and women, proud of their sovereignty. Ango fit right in at the inn, angering Jeremiah by buying up the two whores before he had a chance. In the morning, Ango talked with a merchant some about the dangers of traveling the hills south of here, about bandits and wolves, and without regard, you headed on.
The hills lived up to their name, sloping one way or another, and turned out to be quite dry compared with the relatively wet northern lands. The trail stayed mostly flat, winding around at a steady altitude. Coming around a bend in the late afternoon, you saw a stand of runty trees, and a man popped out, identifying himself as Singol, who claimed to have 4 archers helping him enforce his toll of 5 silvers a man. Ango paid up, but Jeremiah had nothing of it, and battle broke out.
Two of the archers must have run immediately, but the other two stood and supported Singol, who, although a good fighter, was outmatched by the group. He was cut and knocked down, eventually yielding to Taura, while Kerrick felled both archers with his growingly powerful magic darts.
Taura foolishly let up on Singol, who tried to run, drawing off the attention of Ango, Jeremiah and Taura. Taura tried to tackle him, but Jeremiah was the one who caught him on the edge of his sword and downed him, bleeding badly. They decided to drag him back to the start of the fight, and in dragging him his wounds let out his life's blood. While this running chase happened, Matthias made to stabilize the two archers for questioning, but was too late. Kerrick had already dispatched them by opening their throats with his dagger. All that was left was to search the three.
Going through the belongings, Singol had leather armor (now quite cut up), a good solid long-sword, a fist-full of gold rings on his left hand (4 rings, all gold, various designs), and a silver necklace with a crescent moon charm. His belt had a long curved knife with a small ruby in the hilt, but his purse was small, with only 2 gold and 25 silvers in it. He carried no other belongings.
The archers were less well equipped. Each also had leather armor (now with burned holes through parts), a short bow, and a quiver with some a dozen total arrows between them. The man had a short sword strapped to his belt, in moderate condition, but good enough to fight with, and the woman had two small straight-bladed knives, balanced for throwing. Neither carried any money or other belongings.
At the end of Adventure 7, you'd left Enkidor headed for Three Kings. You had passed villages, defeated the bandit Singol in the hills three days south of Enkidor, hidden the bodies, and traded news with the weapons-merchant Jabar, who was headed north to sell his wagons full of fine steel.
Continuing on for a fourth day led you to Three Kings close to dusk, and there you hired a boy named Gorin to lead you around, starting with the Mermaid inn. Gorin told you a bit of the legendary history of Three Kings, where King Zachius, Raal of Enkidor, and Raal of Tazrodor met and joined their armies against an army of Giants, who had come from the south after defeating the kings of men there. The three kings won the battle, and Three-Kings was the town built by the surviving slaves from the Giant's camp, a free town without a king.
The Mermaid was a busy little tavern, and the hostess Amanda was friendly enough with stout, bread, and Kerrick. There was a group of 8 men, merchants from Barador, who kept to themselves. You also met a man Rannos who was stunned at the size of the elf Taura, and got him arm wrestling. After the elf bested him, drinks and talk were had. The night went on quietly, with four of you finding the private room fairly comfortable, and Kerrick doing some scouting on the side.
The next morning, Gorin reported that the merchants had headed out on the north road at first light. He gave you directions to various things in town, including the tannery, market square, main avenue, and temple; and also offered to show you a secret place when you said you didn't need his services anymore. You took him up on that, and he led you through a cellar of a shop into the catacombs, then through the maze of catacombs and into "the Giant's Caves" which stretch under the city.
He left you to go on at that point, sitting fear, and you did so. The tunnel spiraled down, then into a chamber. Up some large stairs on the far side and into another chamber, and wandering brought you to a dais with a tall pedestal on it. Atop the pedestal was a huge book, with what Matthias recognized as the "writing of the Gods" upon it.
Just as you were preparing to leave, you heard a sound behind you, and saw Rannos and his two friends with Gorin. Rannos snapped the neck on the boy, hefted his axe, and charged. Kerrick fell instantly, but the battle soon turned, as Matthias's magic, Taura's new greatsword, and the mute Jeremiah made quick work of the three big men. Ango and Matthias took wounds in the battle, and Taura a scratch.
Matthias managed to revive Kerrick, and then Rannos, for questioning. He revealed that a half-orc named Endrin, who he claims to have met at the thief's court. Once you had that information, the halfling finished him off.
So, at the end of the session, it was perhaps mid-day, and you are deep underground in the Giant's Caves under Three Kings. You have a really gigantic book with the writing of the gods on it. You've just bested three men in battle, and have their bodies as well as that of the boy Gorin immediately around you.
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