At the end of Adventure 8, the group had found a giant book and an even bigger pile of giant bones deep in some carved caves under Three-Kings. You had beaten a thug named Rannos and two of his friends, and Jeremiah cut of the heads to take them back to some half-orc named "Endrin" to get answers. Ango had decided to take his leave, and the rest of you were starting to feel the same.
Deciding that you needed to get out of there before more trouble found you, the group headed out, but not before Taura belted out a yell to test the echoes. That stirred something in the pile of bones, something large, and instead of waiting to see what that was, the group ran, making it to the exit tunnel before stopping.
At this point, a man came around the corner holding a burning stone. The man recognized Taura, and it turns out that Fungia and Taura had fought together against a goblin threat some time ago. But it seems the threat was not abated, and Fungia's monastery had been destroyed. Only he survived, and since he has traveled to find Taura, his last remaining friend.
The group, now with a lightly armed man replacing the nay-saying dwarf, found their way to the catacombs and promptly got lost in the twisting, turning corridors. Eventually Taura found tracks to make his way out, and you emerged on the east side of town in a wooded gully made by a stream. Matthias helped with some healing, and after some more arguing, the group returned to the Mermaid.
Inside your private room there, you worked up the courage to open the strange and magical book. At first nothing happened, then you were all slowly hypnotized by the rune on the first page. Fungia in particular was fascinated by it, and reached out to touch it. When he did, a blasting cold wind came out of the book, and freezing cold shadows burst forth. A dark shadow seized each of you in turn, then moved on, until it reached Kerrick. There, it seemed to settle down, and all the strange wind and icy cold was gone. Kerrick, although sick to his stomach, seemed none the worse for wear.
The book was now heavy, and the rest of the pages turned out to be inscrutable. Large, neat letters covered hundred of pages. The writing was not magical, and somehow related to elven, but in columns instead of rows. Kerrick, as well as the others, were stumped, and decided to rest to feel better.
The next day, you rose and headed to the center of town, outside the temple. Merchants and farmers were beginning to pedal their wares, and you asked around to find information. It seems that none of these men had heard of a man named Endrin, nor had the clerics.
Talking with an older cleric named Seebor, you realized that he might know how to read the book, and you discussed it with him after sharing water in his cleric's cell. He knew about the book before you told him, and with some time he related the tale of how this all came to pass.
It seems that after defeating the giants, the son of Zacchius had the bodies burned in a true heroic funeral. Then he had the spirit of a shadow-demon that stalked over that tomb sealed within. Putting together the danger of this, the son of Zacchius had the lower levels of the giant's temple sealed, and they build catacombs above to hide the paths below. The clerics of Arast then came to inhabit the top levels, and Three Kings came to be.
While trying to put it all together, Amanda the barkeep came stumbling into the town square, crying of an attack. Racing back to The Mermaid, you found just that: the doors broken in, tables smashed, and Matthias beaten bloody on the floor. It seems that Endrin and some of his men have taken the book while you were by the temple. You found Matthias healing, and he will soon recover, but of the trail of the men and the book, you could find not a clue. The busy streets of the town have swallowed them.
At the end of Adventure 9, you had gained a new party member, Fungia, a mystical warrior from the southern Majite lands. While learning some things about the history of Three Kings from the cleric Seebor, you lost the book. Matthias had been beaten bloody by Endrin's men, and he took the book and ran off, smashing Amanda's place and getting you thrown out of there.
Talking some about what to do, you found out that Mattias would be okay, but was badly injured and would not be able to travel for some time. He sent a letter urging you to go on with the quest. Taking his words to heart, you first headed to the market square to pick up a few things, then headed on to see the clerics again for answers.
Discovering that the stairs in the temple going up also went down, you found your way down into three progressively deeper and larger levels of the temple. The first level down, behind barred doors that you smashed open, was a store-room of giant sized tables, furnishings, and other dry-rotted goods. Below that was a sort of gallery which overlooked down into the bottom level. That third level down was a large, square room, with stairs leading up at the middle of each side, and archways leading out in each corner.
Exploring out from the central room, you found more large underground chambers, completely empty, and eventually found your way over to the room you had been in before, where you found the great book. This time the bones did not wait to be taunted, and a skelletal giant came shambling out of the darkness from behind. Led by Fungia's smashing fists, the group downed the monstrosity amazingly fast, but Taura was badly wounded. Fortunately, Jeremiah produced a clerical healing scroll, which Kerrick the Sorcerer managed to read and heal Taura enough to bring him back to the surface and get more help from Seebor, the old cleric Matthias had told you to trust.
You talked some with Seebor, about the Theives' Market which is actually occuring tonight in the catacombs, typically in the tomb of King Raal. He says it is possible your enemy Endrin could be among them, and suggests you go and check it out.
You ended the session reaching The Boar's Head, a high-class establishment along the main avenue. Kerrick's charms (and gold) got you in without trouble, and a bath and meal helped to set your right.
At the end of Adventure 10, you were resting in the Boar's Head after defeating the skeletal giant in the caves underneath the temple. Dinner, then some talk, and Fungia went out to scout this Thief's Market. He snuck in, found some information, and returned unharmed, only to go on, meet another contact, and come back with some more not-too-useful information. Meanwhile, Taura talked with an elf named Yohondus about gods and Gruumsh and the nature of the universe.
The next morning, you had some breakfast and met with Yohondus. He explained his theory that Taura did not understand, about how the Gods did not kill Gruumsh because they are all brothers. You then headed out to the wizard Balathsar's villa, in search of more information.
Balathsar met you and said he knew the answer to your question: Where is the first kingdom? But, the price would be that you bring him the right hand of the man Rannos, based on a debt that Rannos owed to the wizard. You agreed, and spent the day searching above ground and below for Rannos (and Endrin), but found nothing, not even in the two fresh graves in the cemetery north of town.
The next morning, you talked your problems over once again with Yohondus, who said that you should try FINISHING exploring the caves attached to the underground temple, and you did. You found two passages, one met a round room that looked like it had a sacrificial altar in the middle, then the tunnel continued on about a mile, maybe more, to open to a stunted pine forest. The other direction led to Endrin, who had three headless zombies and two animated corpses of boys clustered around him.
The undead abominations shambled forward and engaged the fighters, while Endrin lived up to be all he was rumored to be. After taking a couple magic dart hits from Kerrick, he summoned an unnatural black fog that swept forward, surrounded the halfling, and sucked into his eyes, leaving him blind. He was then about to engage Jeremiah, when he saw his zombies beginning to fail, and made to run down another tunnel.
Taura chased him, and Jeremiah went to help the reckless elf, who was standing in the corridor, fearing going around a bend. So Jeremiah crept forward, and Endrin pounced. Blades flashed, but Endrin managed to grab a hold of Jeremiah, and used the power of Gruumsh to burn his soul from his body, then summoned an exploding shockwave spell that briefly stunned Taura and let Endrin run away.
With creaking and cracking above, dust and rock chips starting to fall, Taura stopped to try and bandage Jeremiah. While working at it, he had to dash out of the cave before the whole thing came down on his head. Jeremiah was left behind.
Bringing the hand of Rannos to Balathsar, he gave you what you had asked, an answer to the question "Where is the Crown of the Youngest God?"
"The Crown of the Youngest God is with the Champion of the youngest god. A fine specimen he is, as my crystal ball sees. Tall and powerful, mighty and ruthless! It seems you have not stopped him from getting it, as that bitch the Seer may have hoped you would. It seems you made a wrong turn on the way. So sad. So sad."
"The Champion, and the crown, have been in the First Kingdom. But the Champion returns to his own lands now. He is pleased with himself, yesss... Very pleased. But he does not know. He does not know."
"You see, he has the Crown, but he does not have the text. And I do not mean that dusty volume you exhumed from this Forgotten Temple. No. There is good news, though. It seems both you and he have made that mistake, after he sent his son to recover that great tomb. It is always funny how impatient mortals are. You see something you do not know, and you jump on it. Fools! Fools."
"This text of which I speak is a scroll of power, a scroll which will tell him how to activate the power of the Crown. It is the Scroll of Blood. The Scroll of Blood, which tells of how to activate the power of the Crown of Blood, and how to bring about the prophesy said at the end of the age before time."
"'Red skies above all'
'Dead and living bow to one'
'Beware the Blood Reign!'"
"You have more questions, I can see. You wish to find this Scroll. It is also in the first kingdom, but I cannot see it there. The magic of the Guardians prevents all from scrying that land."
Taura then asked if these guardians were the Majite, and Balathsar found that quite humorous.
"The wizards of Akkadia are like children, given a gift and a potential to use it, but not understanding the first thing about it. The *renowned* Magites are like teenagers, more capable and powerful in their work, and understanding of what it can do, but still not in real control of what they have. No, the Guardians of whom I refer are older than any two-legged spell-speaker has even been, and their magic is more complex and impenetrable than any other. That is why they were brought here for their task, to guard the first kingdom and prevent the prophesy from coming true. Prophesy coming true..."
"But it seems their old age has failed them. Much as the children of the gods argue, so do the children of the Guardians. And such is how the Blood Crown was taken by the Champion, who now travels like the God Arast. To find the First Kingdom, you too must travel like the God Arast. Then you will reach that which you seek. But I warn you, death and danger is on that road." With those comments, Balathsar dismissed the party.
At the end of Adventure 11, you were recovering in the cave where you fought Endrin and his headless zombies, just after Endrin caused a cave-in over Jeremiah. You found some treasure that Endrin had left behind in his speedy retreat, and collected the hands from the three corpses to make sure you had the one of Rannos. Back on the surface at the Boar's Head Inn, you got cleaned up, then met Andrinor and Shinobi, two adventurers claiming to be on a similar quest. Shinobi's rude manners caused the group (now Kerrick, Taura, and Fungia) to leave, and seek out Balathsar the Wizard.
Balathsar received your payment, and then told you a tale about the Crown of the youngest god. It seems the Champion of the youngest god has it now, and is headed west to his homeland. But he needs the Scroll of Blood in order to fulfill the prophesy and bring about the Blood Reign. Balathsar said that the Scroll of Blood is in the First Kingdom, and to find it, you must also travel west. However, the magic of the Guardians prevents him from scrying it and knowing for sure.
At this point, the group returned to the Boar's Head, where it seems that shifty Shinobi had tried to break into your room and kill the doorman's son. Andrinor had killed Shinobi for this, and thus proved trustworthy. The next morning the new group (now with Andrinor) went to the market to purchase supplies for the overland trip. Andrinor picked up a map and a guide, a young adventurer named Jordon. Fungia picked up two fine war-horses and an ass to carry his shit. Kerrick and Taura found a scroll that Andrinor could read and remove the curse from Kerrick's eyes, giving him his sight back.
The group headed out, following the map Andrinor had bought. The first landmark, a great tree, was a mighty pine. Fungia climbed it and saw a smoke stream rising a few miles to the southeast. The group broke off the road and searched that out, with Fungia and Taura sneaking ahead once they were close. They found a stone cabin, and a hermit who turned out to be wizard after things turned very hostile. The pair fought the wizard, who threw fireballs and magic strikes. Fungia was cut down and left for dead by Taura, who ran and joined with the others not far off. Trying to explain what happened, the group was surprised by the wizard, and ensnared in a great spider's web. The wizard began to lecture the situation to them, and Taura mouthed off, so he killed the elf where he stood, and left the others on a promise of picking up the bodies and being gone. The group found Fungia stabilized, but Taura had passed beyond. Taura the elf was buried under a crop of elm trees.
The remaining group continued on, passing Crag Hold, Red Bridge and reaching Wulk's Village. No trouble was had until Wulk's village, when Jordan cast a spell in front of the heavily armed riders who came out to meet them, and they demanded an outrageous toll for the privilege of passing. The group paid, since they had no choice, and was ushered in, kept under guard, and hurried out of the village the next morning.
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