History of the Fellowship

Fischer and Kiri, as befits their races, have adventuring careers which go back far longer than the humans do. Kiri began her adventuring career in the Pomarj well before that land was overthrown by humanoids, serving a half-elven petty noble, and played her part in the defense of the realm before the evil creatures decimated the fractious nobles and took over the land. She served masters in the Wild Coast, but found herself cheated and lied to by some of them, and now she strongly prefers good-aligned fellow adventurers, rejecting any prolonged association with neutrals (save for those of lawful neutral alignment), druids excepted.

Fischer started life as a street hustler and prankster, the son of some impoverished gnomes, a background he prefers to forget. A little petty pilfering developed into burglary, and when apprehended by the authorities he was offered the choice of military service or amputation of his right hand. Fischer suddenly discovered an amazing aptitude for military life, assisting Highfolker and Velunese raids on outposts of the Horned Society. His japes made him a popular regimental mascot, and his commanding officer realized Fischer was good for morale. His term of service was extended, and extended again, so that Fischer is a retired sergeant-at-arms in the Highfolk military, and his connections there include important folk in senior military circles. Moving on. Fischer has had several adventures in countries around the Nyr Dyv. but he is not often ready to say too much about them. (The DM has flexibility here to determine which persons of doubtful respect for legality may know Fischer, and in which lands, although he is certainly well known by many of the leaders in the Bandit Kingdoms.)

Geren gained his early experience serving under a Ranger Knight in the Gnarley Forest, as noted; Nastassia saw early service in the Cairn Hills during a term with the military forces of Greyhawk; Marie gained her spurs in and around Onnwal, where she has relatives, often traveling by sea and also using spells such as hypnotism to assist in getting good prices for cargo.

The group (except for Fischer) met for the first time in 578 CY, four years ago, in response to a proclamation from Tigran Gellner (see Chapter 2), who was looking for adventurers to assist in a peremptory strike against a nest of bugbears and a few ogres in the Cairn Hills. After being scrutinized by know alignment, the adventurers were deemed acceptable for the job, and together with a half-elf fighter-thief they undertook their first adventure together. The half-elf was killed, but so were many of the bugbears and ogres, Geren distinguishing himself by slaying six bugbears in one fight.

The half-elf could not be raised, but the rest of the group agreed to continue working together and to form a mutual insurance policy, so that if some misfortune befalls any individual the group will do all in its power to obtain help such as remove curse, raise dead, resurrection (needed for Kiri if she should die), regeneration, and the like. Nastassia gently insisted that her natural leadership was important, since none of the other characters was lawful, and her influence could sway them a little closer to her own beliefs and behaviors. An intelligent person, Nastassia knows that she may prefer those of her own alignment, but consorting with others brings them closer to her own goals and values.

Geren then learned from his Ranger Knight of the need for adventurers to undertake a dangerous mission in the Wild Coast, close by the Gnarley Forest and just north of Narwell. This involved the discovery and investigation of a secret evil temple to lncabulos. Since the group needed thieving talents in such a place, Marie used contacts in the Guild of Wizardry to get information from the Thieves' Guild about suitable adventurers. Fischer was invited to join the group, having just arrived in the city and having enthusiastically joined the Thieves' Guild. The five set off, with a mercenary man-at-arms to accompany them.

This quest proved dangerous indeed, for the adventurers had to fight many undead, and Geren was drained of a life energy level by a wraith. Nastassia and the mercenary were both slain by a guardian daemon lurking within the temple, but the survivors got out with a fair magical haul, including Kiri's pearl of wisdom. Sadly, while traveling to Greyhawk upriver their barge was holed below the waterline and the body of the mercenary, plus some minor magic and much treasure, was lost. However, there was sufficient money left to have Nastassia raised and a restoration cast for Geren.

These expenditures left the group rather impoverished, and during 580 CY they worked separately, Geren returning to patrol work, Fischer setting off to unknown lands (probably the Duchy of Umst) to acquire some funds fast preferring not to risk thieving in Greyhawk itself- while Kiri returned to Celene to visit family. Marie was paid for accompanying merchant ship convoys to Onnwal, and Nastassia took some time to study magic and undertake paid work for the Guild of Wizardry, assisting in the production of minor magical items, subsequently serving in the temple of Rao.

The group joined up again in Greyhawk early in 581 CY, after Fischer had "obtained" a treasure map and documents pertaining to a hidden cache of gems and gold in the eastern Cairn Hills, together with references to a magical torch of strange aspect. Needing money-there was not enough left for the group to cover the cost of major spellcasting such as resurrection-the five set out across the Nyr Dyv and landed at a small port just across the hilly range. Careful searching was necessary to locate their goal, and the group had a difficult run-in with a suspicious group of mountain dwarves who had a notable antipathy to elves. However, Fischer's presence proved helpful, and after paying the dwarves a "tribute," they were allowed to pass. Penetrating a warren of mazelike passages, the group fought a small group of minotaurs. hitherto not known in the hills, Marie 's spells and Kiri's battery of magic missiles winning the day in tough fights. Further advances brought the group into conflict with a substantial group of orcs, and hit and-run tactics were employed to decimate the horde. The mountain dwarves became much more helpful when evidence of the party's battle against this evil was produced, and helped the group with shelter, food, supplies, and secure rest.

It took more than six weeks of strikes, strategic retreats. resting, and advancing again to defeat the evil subterranean creatures and allow access to the deepest caverns, which were filled with bizarre luminous fungi, blind albino creatures, and twisted and unnatural rock formations. Forcing their way past mostly unintelligent monsters-reptiles, slugs, slimes and the like-the group finally came upon a sealed treasure chamber, which required many knock and dispel magic spells to enter-and then a guardian daemon had to be defeated before the adventurers could finally acquire what they came for. Gems and gold were present as Fischer's map had promised, and several spell books, two of which were still usable (and rapidly snaffled up by Kiri).

The group also found a strange torch, made of an unknown matte gray metal, tipped with a fire ruby ringed by chunks of rosy quartz which had runes enscribed on them in an ancient, and unknown, tongue. It is the possession of this item which gives the group its name.