Previously on Scales of War

General Summary

1/23/2011
Previously, on Scales of War...

The Heroes tracked down a dark creeper known as Modra who was running an illegal arms dealing operation out of Overlook and providing weapons to an army of orcs.

In a strange room in the caverns underneath the Happy Beggar Almshouse, Modra took a shadowkey from the Heroes and activated a portal, transporting himself and the Heroes to a dark mirror of the room near Umbraforge in the Shadowfell.

Operating under the pseudonym “The Lost Boys”, the Heroes met with Leena, a shadar-kai swordmage, and learned that Modra was planning to destroy Sharshan’s Tower by using a ritual to pipe the magma from a volcanic river through a tunnel between the Dark Foundry and the Tower.

Unless the ritual or the resulting explosion was stopped, a portal inside the Tower could accidentally vent some of the explosive energy directly to the World.

After a heated battle, the Heroes defeated Modra and his minions, as well as a huge aberrant monstrosity created in the Dark Foundry’s labs. But what of the ritual?

1/30/2012
Previously on Scales of War...

In the Shadowfell at Sarshan’s mercenary training grounds called Umbraforge, Erthok felt the ground tremble beneath his elven boots, sometimes stronger and sometimes weaker, but apparently building in duration and intensity.

A rift in a nearby volcano exploded outward, spilling forth denizens of the Elemental Chaos, including a volcanic dragon.

The Heroes thwarted Modra’s plans to vent the chaotic energy of the magma river into Sarshan’s tower, where a portal to the natural World could have accidentally transported the explosive energy to Overlook.

Inside Sarshan’s tower, the Heroes learned that Sharshan is not just forging weapons of shadow iron, but also experimenting with slaves to produce new types of monsters bred for battle.

2/6/2012
Previously on Scales of War...

After tracking down a band of hobgoblin raiders to their lair, the Heroes of Brindol discovered a note from someone called “The Emissary” encouraging the hobgoblin leader to continue his raids and kidnapping activities.

The Heroes tracked arms-dealer Modra from Overlook to the Shadowfell and killed him for his efforts in assisting an army of orcs to invade the peaceful Elsir Vale.

In Sarshan’s Dark Foundry and in his tower’s labs, strange creatures are being bred for battle while mercenary troops are being recruited and trained on the grounds.

In an unexpected meeting with Sarshan himself, the group was offered to either join Sarshan’s operations or watch their world destroyed by forces unimaginable.

2/13/2012
Previously on Scales of War...

The Heroes tracked down arms dealer Modra to a mercenary camp in the Shadowfell operated by the Black Arrow leader Sarshan.

Within camp Umbraforge, the Heroes discovered that Sarshan is training hundreds of mercenaries and outfitting them with shadow weapons in preparation for war while several other prospective clients wait to speak to the Emissary.

While raiding Sarshan’s tower, the Heroes discovered various notes and maps but have not had time to investigate them fully.

In an attempt to fool Sarshan into a double-cross deal, the Heroes halfheartedly offered their services to the Umbraforge operation. The mercenary middle man replied that if he were cruel he would send them back to their homeworld to watch it destroyed by forces unimaginable. Then he ordered his trusted lieutenant and elven ranger Thannu to kill them.

In a desperate battle against Thannu’s animal companions and Shadar-kai associates, the Heroes fell one by one, some unconscious, some bleeding out, some dying, while Thanuu watched from the branches overhead.

3/12/2012
Previously on Scales of War...

Upon return from Umbraforge mercenary camp in the Shadowfell, the Heroes learned that the Overlook city council is concerned of invasion but debate on the timeline of when an invasion might occur.

Bram Ironfell, CEO of the Elsir Consortium, reached out to the Heroes and hired them to search for the Karak Lode, a long-lost gold and diamond mine previously operated by the Ironfell clan.

Following a copy of Ironfell’s map, the Heroes traveled through the Thornwaste to the tiny village Dunesend at the edge of the desert where they witnessed a gnoll beat a native to death while the townspeople watched in fear.

After defeating the gnoll and his satyr associates in combat, the Heroes were resented by the townspeople who were resistant to talk. In the end, they had a dry meal at Bede’s bakery where the halfling told them of the village’s troubles paying tribute to the mysterious Queen Sephatiah.

4/2/12
Previously, on Scales of War...

The Heroes, searching for the lost Ironfell clan dwarven mine Karak Lode, started their quest on the edge of the Thornwaste in the tiny village of Dunesend.

In Dunesend, they defeated a gnoll warrior called The Warden who was collecting tributes for Queen Sephatiah and learned that his band came from a location called Karak a few days journey across the desert to the south.

Following a map provided by Bram Ironfell, the Heroes searched for the mine entrance but were ambushed by a desert hag and her razorclaw companions. The bandits were defeated but the hag and two razorclaws escaped.

4/23/12
Previously on Scales of War...

The Heroes discovered that an army was building in the Shadowfell, potentially to strike against the peaceful communities of the Elsir Vale, including Overlook, their home away from home.

In order to raise capital to support the defending militia, Bram Ironfell hired the Heroes to search for the Karak Lode, a lost dwarven mine of diamonds and gold.

While searching for Karak, the Heroes found a dwarven fortress in ruins, occupied by a strange young eladrin woman calling herself Queen Sephatiah. The Queen is angry at them for invading her home and offered a deal: if they would successfully negotiate on her behalf to Crimelore, the Ghost Lord, she would forgive their transgressions.

The Ghost Lord, a mysterious being shrouded in concealment in the branches of a lifeless underground tree, is outraged at the so-called Heroes for destroying a colony of local wildlife. The party offered to make amends but the Ghost Lord was not easily convinced of their convictions. To prove themselves, they must complete a very difficult mission in the Garden of Graves, a desecrated cemetery in the Feywild.

Time is ticking. They have only 3 weeks to complete the mission for the Ghost Lord before his anger is manifested in torture and death. It is a 4 day journey to the dwarven fortress and a 2 week journey to Overlook. And there is still the pending invasion from the Shadowfell; when and where it will happen is not yet clear. The Heroes have a difficult choice to make.

1/26/2015
Previously, on Scales of War...
The world is at war.

Report Date

24 Aug 2022