Steelbone Meadows

In late 584 CY, when the Pact of Greyhawk had been drafted and the war was ended but for skirmishing in the far-distant lands of the Pomarj, Ratik, and the margins of the Lost Lands, the priest Bernel of Hallorn commanded a gathering of bandit forces drawn from these western lands at what is now called Steelbone Meadows. Bernel was certainly paranoid, possibly completely insane. Ten thousand bandits gathered to celebrate the war's end, expecting to be given instructions for the new campaigns of pillage they looked forward to after the winter. As most of them slept in their huge tented campsite, Bernel, who believed that the bandit leaders intended to turn against Iuz and reclaim their lands from Iuz's control, had over half of them slaughtered by fiends, ore assassins, and lethal magic. The survivors fled in all directions. They currently eke out a perilous living in these infertile, poor plains lands.

Unfortunately, the survivors own chaotic evil disposi tion prevented them from allying against their oppressor. Many of them turned on each other, claiming that the other had co-operated with Bernel, betraying his fellows to ensure his own survival. Thus, the roaming bandit gangs are as likely to attack and kill each other as they are to strike against Iuz's forces, who rarely patrol these lands any more. Bernel was swiftly replaced by Iuz and is now a prisoner in Dorakaa's dungeons. The new com mander at Hallorn has suffered a strange fate of his own. Perhaps the dying curses of the men slain at Steelbone Meadows have affected one victim, at least.

Steelbone Meadows

This site of the infamous massacre is still littered with untold thousands of weathered bones and rusting armor and equipment. Rotting tarpaulins and decomposing, bloodied furs flap in the cold winds from the north. The site is plagued with undead, especially wraiths, wights and ghosts. While a few magical items and some treasure may be scattered about, the risks of trying to obtain them are too great for any to venture into this accursed place. The undead here cannot be commanded by priests of Iuz due to their history and the endless hate they bear against them. An intriguing possibility is that they could be commanded by a priest of another evil deity or ally with him, if a plan of vengeance was presented and their mortal remains were laid to rest here.