From musseauh@esiee.fr Mon Sep 30 12:31:03 1996 Date: Mon, 30 Sep 1996 10:53:01 +0100 From: Herve MUSSEAU Reply-To: mystara-l@io.com To: mystara-l@io.com Subject: [Mystara] 1014SPR FLAURMONT 1, AC 1014 Event: Word spreads throughout the mumlykets of Gunjab, Sindrastan, and Peshmir about the siege at the monastery of Gareth. The Sindhis of the region begin to see Sitara and Anand as heroes who are trying to oppose the Huleans, and begin praising their courage. Meaning: Although originally the intent of the siege was to stop the blasphemy of the priests of Gareth, that notion is soon forgotten by the people of Sind who now view it more as a Sindhis against Huleans confrontation. Instead of trying to discredit Sitara and the others as the Rishiya had hoped, they are turning popular opinion on their side. FLAURMONT 10, AC 1014 Event: The Huleans, now backed up by mages and their own priests of Bozdogan, breach the defenses of Sitara and Anand and capture the temple of Gareth. Five apprentices are killed in the fighting, while the rest are all taken prisoner by the Huleans. FLAURMONT 10, AC 1014 Event: Pressured by his various Jarls, King Ragnar once again leads his men into the Hardanger Mountains to chase out the humanoids that have been harassing his people for the past couple of years. This time, as well as his normal army, several bands of mercenaries and adventurers march into the mountains as well, hoping to get their share of the 1,000,000 gp offered in bounties in the Humanoid Defense Fund established by the Nordhartar Defense League (JA, Sviftmont 28, AC 1013). Finally, Vestland has also begun to coordinate attack plans with Soderfjord as they too are being harassed by orcs (instead of Kobolds) and it would be best for both nations to be rid of all humanoids. This time, they march straight for the Falun Caverns which where discovered two years ago by his scouts (PWA3, Eirmont 26, AC 1012) but he had never been able to attack because of the constant raid and harassment between the kobolds and humans armies last year. Meaning: This is basically a straight-forward human vs. humanoid military campaign by the men of the Soderfjord Jarldoms. Ragnar, having lost many men and battles in the mountains the past couple of years, had hoped to end the fighting before losing more face to his people, and hence helped establish the Humanoid Defense Funds. But it was too late; he had already lost the respect of several Jarls when he withdrew and declared the war over. Determined to prove once again that he is a great warrior, he leads for the third year in a row another army up into the mountains to find and defeat the kobold horde. FLAURMONT 13, AC 1014 Event: A party using powerful teleportation magic break into the prison facilities of Borydos Island (Empire of Thyatis) and manage to release all the prisoners. After massive chaos, all the prisoners are recaptured (dead or alive) by the guards and brought back to the prison. A head count reveals that 5 prisoners are missing, and none of those who broke into the prison have been found either. FLAURMONT 14, AC 1014 Event: Sitara Rohini, Anand Brishnapur, and the surviving members of the monastery of Gareth arrive, under heavy guard, at the town of Raneshwar at the foot of the mountains. They are locked up in the local dungeon for the night. FLAURMONT 21, AC 1014 Event: In the hills between Mahasabad and Palkat, the unit escorting Sitara and the other prisoners is attacked by a horde of bandits. The outlaws make a strike for the chain of prisoners, free them, and then rush back into the hills with their new allies. Meaning: The bandits are a group of Freedom Warriors who desire to overthrow the Huleans in Sind and return the nation to the Sindhis. Chandra ul Nervi, the secret leader of the Freedom Warriors, however, did not order their escape. Local members of the rebels heard the stories of Sitara and Anand's bravery at the monastery of Gareth and decided that they had to free such loyal members of their cause. FLAURMONT 25, AC 1014 Event: The forces of Ragnar enter the hills of the area called Gnollheim and invade in force several of the small gnoll communities, crushing the outnumbered defenders. Meaning: The gnolls of Soderfjord have been allied with the kobolds of the Hardangers for the past couple of years. Ragnar intends to crush all the humanoids and eliminate any possible aid the kobolds might receive. Some of the gnolls escape and warn their forces in the Hardangers to prepare for the humans again. FLAURMONT 27, AC 1014 Event: Forces of Vestland gather in Rhoona and march into the Makkres Mountains, intent on defeating Thar and his horde before it gets too much out of control. YARTHMONT 8, AC 1014 Event: Ragnar and his men encounter and skirmish with the first kobold and gnoll defenders in the Hardanger Mountains south of the Great Marsh. After many little battles, neither force seems to have greatly affected the other. YARTHMONT 12, AC 1014 Event: The forces of Ragnar are thrown into chaos as Psa'gh's kobolds cause an avalanche to destroy the men of the northern reaches. Once more, Ragnar is forced to watch as several dozen warriors are crushed to death. YARTHMONT 12, AC 1014 Event: During a talk between the shadow elves and elves of Alfheim over the magic influencing the forest, a shadow elf assassin attempts to kill Tree Keeper Jorodrin Feadiel. The forest elves retaliate and about a dozen are wounded and/or killed on both sides before the elves of Alfheim manage to retreat and lose their pursuers. Meaning: The shadow elves had nothing to do with the assassination attempt. It was actually an elf of Alfheim using his magic to impersonate a shadow elf who fired the arrow at the Tree Keeper. The elf, a member of the Alfheim Avengers, purposely missed as he did not want to kill one of his own. The whole event was to make it look like the shadow elves cannot be trusted and to polarize the opinion of the surface elves against the Shadow Elves. It seems the attempt worked. YARTHMONT 14, AC 1014 Event: Lenard Doverson, an adventuring priest of Vanya from Thyatis is arrested in Freiburg for heresy against the Heldannic Knights and Vanya. At his trial in the Star Chamber, he denounces everything the Knights stand for and says that they have lost the true meaning of Vanya, which is to conquer, not to persecute and enslave. The man is executed for such blasphemy, as "only the Heldannic Knights know the true will of Vanya." Afterwards, throughout the Territories, the Knights spells and magic begin to fail. Many Knights are stripped of their most powerful spells, while some even lose all their spell-casting abilities. Meaning: Vanya has always been the patroness of War and Conquest, and she has upheld the Heldannic Knights as her favored as they were always ready to seek glory in battle and war. Yet last year, when the Knight turned inwards rather than to continue conquering, and started their persecution of others, Vanya was dismayed. She gave them leeway as it is the right of the conquerors to dictate how the conquered will behave, to gain time to rest and gather troops/intelligence, as well as to bring new followers to her flock of worshippers. But then many of the Knight Lords began using the Inquisition as means of disposing of their rivals and gaining more lands/money/power rather than for her glory. She has been disappointed ever since, and the execution of one of her own faithful priest trying to return them to the path of conquest was the last straw. The arrogance at the trial of declaring that only the Heldannic Knights know her desires have cost most of them her blessings, as well as the magical support they once had. YARTHMONT 16, AC 1014 Event: Ragnar and his men reach the Falun Caverns and encounter the horde of kobolds ready to defend it. After a long and bloody battle, the humans manage to win the field as the kobolds flee back into their caverns. The forces prepare themselves for a siege. YARTHMONT 19, AC 1014 Event: After a week of fleeing and a few skirmishes with shadow elf soldiers, the elves of Alfheim manage to escape the Canolbarth forest and return to safety in Darokin. Jorodrin is stunned and cannot believed the shadow elves acted in such a way, yet he cannot deny what happened either. He starts making plans to return to King Doriath in Wendar to inform him what has happened. YARTHMONT 20, AC 1014 Event: Kanafasti and the Wanderers believe to have found a way to stay in Aengmor while maintaining the Way of Rafiel; they intend to raise the city of Aengmor to the surface world, where they will claim a new way of Rafiel shall be born. Abandoning the deformed and the old was correct underground, as only the strong could survive in that harsh land, but on the surface world such events need no longer occur. They hope that they can start a more caring religion of Rafiel in their new town on the surface. Kanafasti and the Wanderer mages immediately begin the research for such a powerful magical spell. Meaning: Unfortunately for the Wanderers, the idea was secretly brought to them by the cult of Atzanteolt. The cult of Atzanteolt has grown as powerful as it dares with the shamans of Rafiel in Aengmor. They intend to destroy the shaman's power by raising the city to the surface, where their soul crystals will be destroyed by the sunlight, and hence they will lose all spellcasting abilities. If that were to happen, the cult of Atzanteolt is sure they can take over Aengmor. The Wanderers, so intent on changing the Way of Rafiel for themselves, have failed to realize that someone else might also be trying to impose their own religion. The shadow elf behind everything is Xatapechtli, the Spymaster and Feathered Serpent, his mind having been slowing corrupted to the Azcan way of life (and hence Atzanteotl) by the magical cloak he wears. He has been pulling the strings behind the scenes to bring back the glory of the way he now sees as the true way of life of shadow elves (See GAZ 13: The Shadow Elves for Xatapechtli's stats). And even more unfortunately for the Wanderers, he is clever and experienced enough to do it without getting caught. YARTHMONT 23, AC 1014 Event: The forces of Vestland encounter a horde of trolls, and after a long fight, the humans fall back from the vicious beasts. Meaning: Thar has managed to convince the trolls of Trollheim to join his horde and sent them after the invading humans. Still, the red orc realizes that it is only a matter of time before the Vestlanders get past the trolls and enter the mountains. Thar sends scouts out to find other humanoid tribes and clans in the area and convince them to join his horde. YARTHMONT 28, AC 1014 Event: After a few weeks of fighting, the men of Soderfjord finally manage to break into the Falun Caverns and claim the entrance. Psa'gh's kobolds fall back into the deeper caverns. Ragnar's men are unable to get much farther as the kobolds have riddled their cavern with pitfalls, traps, and ambushes. Meaning: Psa'gh has the situation well in hand. Since the humans already know where the Falun Caverns are, there is no point in trying to lead them astray in the mountains. Psa'gh has let them enter the cavern, where the humans must now split up into small groups to get anywhere. And these small groups don't stand a chance in the maze of traps that the kobolds have prepared. Although Ragnar believes to be making headway into the kobolds lair, he is only advancing onto more and more traps left by the kobolds. KLARMONT 5, AC 1014 Event: A caravan heading for Sayr Ulan from Hule is ambushed soon after it passes Gola Keep (on the western border of Sind). The contents of the caravan, gold for the Hulean armies, never reach their destination. Meaning: The Freedom Warriors have made their first meaningful strike against the Huleans. Sitara and Anand, who have been with them for over a month now, have been preaching to the rebels, telling them that the time for waiting is over and that they should act now. Anand has been teaching many of the Freedom Warriors the arts of the Shehid Mystics, slowly turning them into a fighting force rather than simple farmers who are revolting. During this time, many have also come to hear and appreciate the words of Gareth. Following the traditions of the Shehid Mystics, the gold is mostly given back to the poor of the region who have suffered under the Hulean rulers. Enough is kept to continue to supply the Freedom Warriors, however. Only the excess is given away. Still, it is still enough gold to raise the public opinion of the Freedom Warriors. KLARMONT 10, AC 1014 Event: There is celebration in Thyatis City as Emperor Eusebius I's daughter is born. Eusebius names her Valentia after the famous Empress of Thyatis that ruled the Empire of Thyatis in the year AC 20 and held it together after Zendrolion's death. (See Dawn of the Emperors boxed set for Thyatis' history) Meaning: There is no hidden meaning in this event. Of special note, Valentia seems very magically inclined and could one day become a powerful wizardess if trained correctly. Yet at such a young age, there is still no sign of her potential power. KLARMONT 15, AC 1014 Event: Sultan Mohammed Al-Kalim declares that a large piece of land just outside Ylaruam City is now considered to be a foreign quarter. It is there that the World Games will be held in just two more months. Meaning: There are several laws in Ylaruam that outsiders have trouble obeying, such as the law that all mages must wear brightly colored robes which indicate that they are mages (see GAZ 2: Emirates of Ylaruam). Because of this, Ylaruam has foreign quarters, in which the foreigners rules, make their own laws, and punish themselves accordingly. Within these quarters, the laws of Ylaruam do not apply. Since the World Games are bound to bring hundreds, if not thousands of foreigners and infidels, the Sultan has merely assured that they will have a place to stay and that in the games, there will be no hassles of law or such. The Sultan has placed the ambassador of Darokin in charge of the new foreign quarters reserved for the World Games. KLARMONT 23, AC 1014 Event: The defenses of the Hardanger kobolds in the Falun caverns suddenly collapses as kobolds seem to be fighting kobolds. Ragnar and his men push their way into the deep caverns. They soon discover the reason that the kobolds have now started to flee the area. A pack of fiends are on the loose within the caverns. The humans of the northern reach halt their advance and fortify in the caverns they have managed to take from the kobolds, preparing themselves for the onslaught from the fiends. Meaning: Thra'gh, the head shaman of the Hardanger kobolds (see GAZ 7: The Northern Reaches), and trusted adviser and friend of Psa'gh, was getting tired of the endless number of humans at the entrance to the Falun Caverns. He has wasted several decades of his life watching Psa'gh (who no longer ages thanks to his artifact armor) simply wait for the human to do stupid things when he believes they could have just invaded the humans and crush them with the power of the "Suit of Silver." Although Psa'gh continuously insists that the humans at the cavern entrance were under control and would simply be killed one at a time while the kobolds, Thra'gh thinks that Psa'gh has finally failed. Thra'gh therefore used and ancient ritual to summon a greater fiend to his service to help him reclaim the artifact from Psa'gh so he can himself lead the kobolds to victory. With his spell, he summons a marilith (tanar'ri, true) [for AD&D] or a hissing fiend [for D&D], which in terms summons lesser fiends to help it (tanar'ri hezrou if AD&D or croaking fiends if D&D). The fiends attack Psa'gh. Unlike the original legends of the Shining Armor (GAZ 7, p.46), Psa'gh survives and escapes the fiends. Instead, Thra'gh is killed by the greater fiend who break free of his control. The fiends then decide to go on a rampage and just kill everything within the Falun Caverns. KLARMONT 25, AC 1014 Event: The forces of Ragnar, with the help of several priests of Thor and Odin, manage to defeat the fiends within the Falun Caverns, banishing them back to the Abyss (or the Pitts). Having taken advantage of the situation, the humans manage to storm most of the cavern and take control of the situation. Psa'gh realizes that they are trapped, and supplies are running low. He gives the order for the kobolds to flee the Caverns, and they leave by other exits the humans have not yet discovered. Psa'gh's horde regroups on the other side of the mountain, away from the humans. KLARMONT 26, AC 1014 Event: There are many loud complaints in Ylaruam about the terrain given over to foreigners for the World Games. Many believe that if foreigners come to Ylaruam, then they should at least be civilized and behave according to the laws of Ylaruam and Al-Kalim; there is no need to augment the size of the foreign quarters. The loudest of these protests come from the Kin faction, which are very xenophobic and hate foreigners. The Sultan assure them that the land for the World Games will only be a foreign quarter for the duration of the games, and once it is over, will be returned to the people of Ylaruam. He also asks them to give the infidels a chance to prove themselves before speaking harshly about them when they have not yet even arrived in Ylaruam. Meaning: The Ylari have never been too happy about foreigners, but they have always allowed them in their nation. But this is the first time that they expect so many at once, and tensions can't help but run a little high. The Kin faction, the rival faction of the Preceptors for the throne of Ylaruam (see GAZ 2: Emirates of Ylaruam), have never liked having foreigners on their holy land, and would love to close down the borders of Ylaruam. With tensions running as they are, the Kin are doing their best to spread their beliefs to the Ylari in hopes of gaining more political influence. KLARMONT 28, AC 1014 Event: Scouts report the kobolds fleeing the area, and Ragnar immediately has his men chase after them. This begins a long series of skirmishes and maneuvres to lose/surprise each other in the Hardanger Mountains. -- Herve Musseau Primary Email: musseauh@esiee.fr Secondary Email: herve@hotmail.com Homepage: http://www.esiee.fr/~musseauh I'm a QSQWBEEEGGNFR Mystaran