Dedekind Fried

Dedekind Fried was a male human bard and a PC in the Emeron campaign.

### Early Life

Dedekind Fried was born on the 17th of Yeti, the third child to to Sig and Roy Fried, lion tamers in a traveling carnival. As was apparently tradition for the carnival, Dedekind was immediately thrown into a pile of dung upon his birth.

Dedekind's parents billed themselves as "Sig Fried and Roy, lion tamers" but hoped that Dedekind would grow up to be the human catapult shot. Unfortunately as Dedekind grew it became obvious that he would likely be too large for such an act, as he was not only tall and broad but particularly rotund as well. As he grew older and older the stunt catapult could fling Dedekind less and less distance, which limited the crowd draw. The final straw came when Dedekind was 15 and the catapult broke when trying to launch him. He became a laughing stock and an embarrassment to his family and was not allowed to perform the catapult stunt shot anymore.

Dedekind tried to launch other acts such as ventriloquism, singing and dancing but none met the standard set forth by the guild and were all cancelled quickly as they did not offer a huge draw of the crown or sufficient opportunity to pick pockets. Dedekind even tried tightrope walker as it was more death defying, but the rope was not strong enough for a young man of Dedekind's birth.

With little more options available to Dedekind, he was demoted to dung collector, gathering the droppings of the animals of the carnival. This did nothing to alleviate Dedekind's low status among the other carnies, and he was frequently the victim of cruel jokes and pranks.

### A Turn for the Worse

One night the other carnies decided to play a prank on Dedekind that would mark a major change in Dedekind's life. They convinced Dedekind that a beautiful woman was lying naked in his bed and waiting for him. When he investigated he found the lights low but she seemed eager and he was a healthy young man.

When the sun rose Dedekind realized that his bed-mate was Esther, the 63 year old bearded lady. She expressed an interest in pursuing a relationship with Dedekind but, in disgust and humiliation, he spat out the fateful two sentences that changed his life: "Listen lady, I was just looking for some action. Personally, I think my armpits are more attractive than you!"

In his mental state Dedekind had forgotten that Esther was a practiced mage, but he was rudely reminded when, in a rage, she chanted a few words of magic and plunged her hand into his mouth. With a brief flash of magical energy she removed her hand, holding his severed tongue. In shock, Dedekind fled the scene, and the carnival, never looking back.

### After the Carnival

Dedekind wandered a bit, having difficulty making a living. All his best skills involved using his voice, but that was no longer an option and he was mute. Thankfully he was fairly capable of playing the lute, and would frequently use this to try to make his way. Eventually he reached Emeron City, eking out a living playing his lute in taverns.

## With the Heroes of Prophecy

On the 18th of Horse, 1129 Dedekind, along with two other city residents, Lylena and Pott'z, were approached by a man named Kobyashi. The trio was hired to recover a number of magical items from a pair of individuals named Taris and Patara, as they had stolen the goods from the Great White Wizard Dillman. Dedekind was not overly interested in bring justice, but he was quite interested in the promised payday so he agreed to go. Their investigation revealed that Taris was affiliated with to the Raven's Eye, the thief's guild of Emeron City. Following up on this, the trio secured an audience with the leader of the Raven's Eye, Trista Ravenlark.

Trista informed the investigators that the theft was unsanctioned and that a search of Taris' room revealed several charm potions and evidence that he was associated with a mysterious figure in Antyoch named Devos. As a sign of good faith of the Eye's desire to return the items Trisa assigned a member of the Raven's Claw, Lena Talzwon, to accompany them.

During their trip to Antyoch, a portal opened in the sky and two figures, Ferris Gerabaldi and Keysbee, fell from it. The two were transported to Goric from their home dimension due to a failed magical experiment but joined the group in their mission. Dedekind immediately noted how unique Keysbee was and immediately began making plans to involve him in a freak show when he either rejoined his old carnival or began his own.

In Antyoch they learned that Devos was a wizard that had a home in the woods not far from the city. Investigation there led to a battle with the Devos and his undead, as well as Patara and Taris. Dedekind was badly wounded in the fight, but survived. The heroes proved victorious and investigation of the home revealed the magical items as well as a number of people encased in amber. Lylena was able to reverse the sell that held the victims. Among the trapped people were Dandy Lion and Qualinthalis Miertholas.

## More Allies

Towards the end of Horse, 1129, Sir Lazrith of Fulton extended an offer to Lylena to gather a group of adventurers and travel to his estate in Fulton. She recruited Pott'z, Dedekind, Ferris, Keysbee, and Dandy to the effort. During the travel they encountered a Shang-Tsian samurai named Kagami and helped her fight off a pack of goblins. Claiming she owed them a debt for helping, she accompanied to Fulton as well.

Sir Lazrith had dreams of creating an estate where human, elf, half-elf and all races could co-exit, however the anti-elf sentiment was strong and many of the elves who initially came to Fulton, had left in the face of the hostile racism of the human population. Worse a recent spate of murders had brought things nearly to the boiling point. The heroes assisted Lazrith in uncovering a plot to stoke the racism of the are to create a riot that would end with Lazrith dead and someone more predictable or controllable in his place. Little was known about this mastermind beyond a name: Darsalgen.

## The Haunting of Yadfim

On the 12th of Unicorn Sir Arocan Gialiadin approached Dandy Lion, Qualinthalis Miertholas, Pott'z, and Dedekind. He told them he'd heard of the work they performed for Sir Lazrith and the Great White Wizard Dillman. He explained that he'd been granted the estate of Yadfim by Baron Christopher Ravenut, but that something was wrong with the land and that laborers refused to stay more than a night or two. He asked them to find out what was going wrong and resolve it.

The group departed and rode with with Sir Arocan rode to Yadfim, spending the night in the small manor house there. Dandy Lion had been to the estate back in 1073 with the Heroes of Unity and remembered well how mysterious creatures had been able to take the form of her companion Beastnut along with Lady Crystal Donovan turn the party against one another and execute two of their companions Horatio Glavewalker and a dwarf sailor known as Salty. She immediately looked for signs of involvement of the creatures, but found none.

Qualin began to suspect undead and began investigating the grounds but could find nothing conclusive. That night Dandy saw the apparitions of Salty and Horatio be killed again. Qualin suggested that the spirits may want something and that they secure the services of a cleric powerful enough to speak with the dead. Sir Arocan arranged for a cleric to come to the estate, who advised they wished to be buried closer to the homes they loved. Arocan arranged to have Horatio's bones delivered to the Glave Woods and Salty to be buried at sea. Once the bodies were relocated the haunting ceased and Sir Arocan was able to hire workers to help improve Yadfim.

## The Prophecy

> *There is a minstrel, his voice unheard*
>
>

> *his tongue taken by a woman spurned*
>
>

On the 16th of Griffon, 1129, Dedekind, along with Kagami of Towa, Dandy Lion, Qualinthalis Miertholas, and Pott'z were summoned by Lylena and Jon Sumnim. They explained that Professor Jaymes Chickwood had been kidnapped by a powerful enemy named Starr, and needed a rescue.

The party left immediately to track Chickwood's abductors. After a three day chase through the countryside they came upon the caravan that was carrying Chickwood and attacked it to retrieve him. Starr revealed himself to be an enormous red dragon. Sumnim held it at bay while the other heroes began searching the other wagons, eventually finding the one that held Chickwood and freeing him. Chickwood and Sumnim drove the dragon off while the rest of the party finished off the warriors operating the caravans.

Upon the return to Emeron City, Chickwood explained that he'd unearthed part of one of the Yotorian Prophecies, and that he believed it referred to the very people that had come to help him, including Dedekind. Chickwood explained that a "Great Darkness" would come and that the forces trying to bring it about needed the artifacts of the Gods in order to initiate it. Accordingly, the heroes would need to preemptively gather the items referred to in the prophecy.

## The Prophecy Begins

On the 25th of Griffon Sir Zadric Trield, the lord of the estate of Crossroad in the Barony of Rupmon offered a long a job to the adventurers who became the Heroes of Prophecy. Dedekind, along with Kagami of Towa, Dandy Lion, Ferris Gerabaldi, Qualinthalis Miertholas and Lylena traveled to his estate and he informed them that he may have a long term position, but he wanted proof that they were competent. He stated that he'd pay them to clear out a goblin warren nearby that had been causing problems for his estate.

Aware of the lines of the prophecy stating *They shall be recruited by a large lord| to begin the quest after a goblin's blood poured,*they accepted the proposal. Accompanied by Sir Zadric's squire Yuden Vittel, the group headed out the following day. Kagami located some tracks and in short order they had found a goblin raiding party. Qualin charmed one of the creatures and it led them to the lair. Dedekind concocted a plan to lure the goblins out using Dandy as bait, but this was dismissed by the others. Ultimately the heroes went into the goblin warren and engaged the creatures in a huge battle and were able to slay the beasts.

Sir Zadric paid the group and explained that he had received word of someone or someones trying to gather specific artifacts. He was still working with his resources on the motive and a lot of details but head a name: Darsalgen. According to Sir Zadric this person was launched (or had launched) an expedition to the Plains of Galmar to find the fabled *Club of Galmar*.

## Expedition to the Plains of Galmar

The group rode from Crossroad to Emeron City and made preparations for an expedition to the Plains of Galmar, including hiring a cleric of Akana named Jallik Maltar to accompany them.

On the 9th of Lion, 1129 the expedition departed Emeron City. It consisted of Dedekind, Kagami of Towa, Ferris Gerabaldi, Lylena and Booknut, the grandson of the famous Hero of Unity, Beastnut. The journey was long and fraught with danger and Dedekind was miserable the entire time. Early in the trip he'd thrown out his back when the party was attacked by wolves. Kagami deemed the overweight bard out of shape and forced him to begin an exercise regime once his back was better, but he immediately threw it out again. Once it had healed again, she tried to get him to exercise again, but he refused, resulting in her forcing him to walk for several days instead of ride and slowing the expedition down. Eventually after he was attacked by a band of orcs while lagging behind Kagami finally relented and allowed Dedekind to ride again.

By the 24th of Dragon the party had found the decapitated remains of a the keep where the *Club of Galmar* was supposed held. The keep was filled with orcs, and the Heroes of Prophecy were forced to slay the beasts to recover the artifact.

During the fighting a spell mishap performed by Ferris seemed to teleport Dandy Lion and Pott'z to them. As they were leaving the keep, the group was attacked by some barbarians. The Heroes of Prophecy interrogated one of the survivors and learned that Darsalgen had sent them to recover the *Club of Galmar*, but that all the orcs had stymied them. The prisoner also reveled that Darsalgen had pushed on to Wilaria, in the Eastern Realms, to search for the *Bell of St. Chardastes*, a powerful artifact of Akana.

## Trip to the Eastern Realms

On the 2nd of Bear, 1129, the Heroes of Prophecy finally arrived in the town of Hidencul in the Holy Empire of Wilaria. After asking where the bell might be housed, the were directed to the church of Akana. Though it was after dark they went immediately, only to find Darsalgen and a number of barbarians in the process of stealing the *Bell of St. Chardastes*. The Heroes slew Darsalgen and his party, with Pott'z happily delivering the death blow on Darsalgen as he'd led the attack that wiped out his village the Galmarian and had vowed to kill him.

The party was approached by a divining wizard named Eldruer. He told them that he'd seen that they were coming through and wished to return to the Kingdom of Emeron. He promised to magically teleport them there if they recovered three Griffon eggs. The Heroes agreed and in only a few days traveled to a griffon nest to recover the eggs. True to his world, Edlruer magically transported them back to Emeron City.

## Trip to the Dwarven Lands

Within a fortnight of returning to Emeron City Sir Zadric Trield informed the Heroes of Prophecy that they had unearthed the probable location of the *Battle Axe of Clangeddin*in the Kingdom of Thorgain. Dedekind, Lylena, Ferris, Keysbee, Qualinthalis, Dandy, and Booknut left within days. High in the Dwarven Mountains they uncovered the axe, as well as the *Helm of Theron Goblinsblood*which contained the spirit of the ancient dwarven hero ("returning him to life," according to the prophecy.)

Unfortunately Booknut, apparently aggrieved at not being appreciated to his satisfaction, made an effort to cause trouble for the group. He left the party and traveled to the nearest dwarven town to accuse the Heroes of having stolen it, seemingly out of spiteful revenge.

Though a dwarven party dispatched did find the Heroes, Booknut's vengeance failed. The heroes explained the situation and, using the *Helm of Theron Goblinsblood*, convinced the dwarves to allow them to retain the axe temporarily until the crisis had passed.

Returning from the Dwarven Mountains the Heroes reviewed the prophecy and saw a line that indicated the Brewmaster's *Helm of Brewing* would be in Hardale. The heroes located it in the possession of a dwarven tavern owner and brewer named Balix Stonetankard who was using it's power to know every recipe for every ale to make his tavern very successful. With the help of the *Helm of Theron Goblinsblood*, Dandy was able to get Balix to hand over the helm.

## Another Ally from Beyond

During their return from the Dwarven Mountains, a magical portal opened before the Heroes of Prophecy. An enormous beast with the body of a man but the head, horns and feet of a bull emerged from it. Ferris knew the creature, introducing him as Vestibule he stated that he was another servant of his master on his home world. Vestibule explained that Ferris' old rival Salvok attacked their master, who sent him here to warn Ferris. It seemed that the dark god that the prophecy said would try to invade Goric originated on Ferris' home world and that Salvok had allied with her.

While fairly perturbed by what Vestibule reported, Dedekind was far more interested the possibility of adding such a unique creature to the carnival he planned on building. Along with Keysbee, he thought that Vestibule would be a fine addition, even if the minotaur did rebuff Dedekind's frequent offers.

## A Carnival Interlude

Once the heroes returned to Emeron City Jon Sumnim and Jaymes Chickwood provided the next portion of the Yotorian Prophecy. The translation indicated that Dedekind needed to go "home." Some divination revealed that the traveling circus where he was raised was moving to the rural estate of Iest.

On the 19th of Skeleton, Dedekind, Kagami, Qualin, Ferris, Keysbee and Vestibule reached the carnival, set up in the village. Most of the group laid low while Dedekind went to visit his parents. They told him that the carnival had been taken over by Esther. She had apparently come into the *Amulet of Yotia* and turned the previous leader of the carnival, Fitzgerald, into a mutated toad who was now in the freak show.

Under her leadership she the carnival was earning a great deal of money and had unearthed the Brewmaster's *Girdle of Binge* and Modee's *Hat of Performance* which they used in their shows. However everyone was terrified of Esther and would far rather have seen her gone.

Dedekind came up with an intricate plan that involved bringing Vestibule, Dandy and Keysbee to Ester as petitioners for the freak show in order to gain access to her. The plan led to a grand battle wherein the Heroes of Prophecy defeated Esther and the carnies loyal to her and turned Fitzgerald back to his human form.

Dedekind convinced the heroes to spare Esther and those who had followed her in the fight claiming that the Carney Code required the carnival's leader to pass sentence. Fitzgerald pardoned all except for Esther, whom he banished. The bearer of the *Girdle of Binge* has been slain in the fighting and so the Heroes of Prophecy were able to collect it but the bearer of the hat, a carnie named Horace, refused to part with it. Dedekind convinced him to come with them, arguing that his bardic skills and adventuring would earn him far more coin than the carnival, showing his own accumulated wealth as an example.

Dedekind's most successful triumph of the whole affair, however, was the recovery of his tongue, which Esther had kept in a jar of preservative liquid in her cart. Now that he had it he could try to find a cleric who would be able to magically reattach it.

## A Betrayal

While traveling from Iest to Emeron City the Heroes of Prophecy were accosted by Baron Christopher Ravenut. He demanded to know where the artifacts they'd collected were and was hostile at first. When he saw Dandy Lion, whom he had played with as a child, he agreed to hear them out. He explained that he believed that Sir Zadric Trield, whom they were working for, was gathering the items for a nefarious purpose and not to safeguard them as he had told the Heroes.

They declined to hand over the artifacts in their possession, and explained that they'd already given the *Club of Galmar* to Sir Zadric, but agreed to investigate him and departed. Kagami, who had sworn her service to Zadric, was especially affronted at the thought that he may have been deceiving them.

On the 25th of Skeleton the party reached Crossroad and Qualin, Kagami and Dandy confronted Sir Zadric about Baron Christopher's claims while Lylena, Booknut, Dedekind, Ferris, Keysbee and Vestibule waited outside the manor house. Zadric denied their claims, but invited them to leave his service if they were displeased. They decreed that they were going to leave his service for Baron Christopher's and Zadric attacked them. The others joined in, but the battle was incredibly fierce. Ultimately, however, Sir Zadric was slain.

Investigation of Zadric's manor revealed that he had sent the club south to Eddie Drezzen, (who at this time was an impostor) and that the two were in league with someone named Sedrina. At this Qualin chimed in, explaining that a liche called Sedrina the Souless had destroyed the Order of the Fadalithis. Dandy informed them that Eddie was, in fact, an impostor and that while she didn't know where the real Eddie was, the one working with the others was using his name and good reputation.

The heroes sent Booknut to Emeron City to report to professors Sumnim and Chickwood and after determining that Zadric's squire, Yuden Vittel, was not involved in his schemes, let him go.

## The Expedition South

The prophecy indicated that the Heroes of Prophecy would need to be heading south to face Sedrina the Soulless and the impostor of Eddie Drezzen. Seeking assistance, Qualinthalis called upon the only other member of the Order of the Fadalithis he could find, an elf named Thorinislanthali (who as called Thorinis by most non-elves). Dandy called upon her old allies Trista Ravenlark and Taltharian, informing them that Eddie was an impostor and might know where the real Eddie is. Thorinis joined the expedition and Trista and Taltharian advised they would meet them on the way.

The party traveled to Fishton and caught a ship to the Glave Woods where they traveled to the capital to seek an audience with Queen Parthalanis the ruler of the Glavewood Kingdom. Dandy was already acquainted with her and was able to use that to gain an audience with her on the 6th of Wolverine, 1129.

Only Dandy and Qualin were granted an audience, and they warned the queen about the prophecy and that nefarious individuals would be after the *Bow of Corellon Larethian.* Qualin also requested a royal dispensation to restore the Order of the Fadalithis and clear out their old keep. Queen Parthalanis granted permission to Qualin, but stated that the bow was safe in the hands of her champion, Ranenthalentos, and would remain as such. She did thank them for their information, however.

Within a day of the audience, the Heroes were approached by an elf named Larentheon, who advised that he was a cleric of Corellon Larethian and that the head of the church had a vision that the bow would fall into nefarious hands. The Heroes were dubious but agreed to meet and the next day met with an elf named Janelthalian, who stated that she had seen the vision and proposed to remove the *Bow of* *Corellon Larethian* from Ranenthalentos so it could be hidden to keep safe from the enemy.

Dandy openly revealed that Janelthalian had evil in her heart and the group attempted to apprehend her for the Queen's justice. However she fought back fiercely, ultimately revealing that she was the green dragon Emerald. However the city's defenses would be too much all at once even for a dragon so she fled the area. Investigation revealed that the real Janelthalian had received no divine visions, and had no idea someone had been impersonating her. With a final warning to the Throne and to Ranenthalentos the Heroes departed.

## The Retaking of the Academy of the Fadalithis

The Heroes of Prophecy sailed to the southern part of the forest and disembarking and heading east to reach the Academy. Qualinthalis and Thorinis led the way with great zeal. On the 16th of Wolverine, they reached the fortified hall. Using a small silver mine connected to the Academy they slipped into the building.

Over the course of two days the Heroes of Prophecy cleared out the undead, including slaying Karinthena, grandmother was Sedrina the Souless had destroyed the order and turned her into a Banshee forever cursed to haunt the order and kill any living creature that entered. The fighting was fierce though and both Thorinis and Keysbee fell to Karinthena before she was destroyed, and Dedekind was severely injured. They were able to recover the *Torch of Everburning*, however, preventing another artifact from being misused by evil.

Dedekind found the death of Keysbee sad, but as Dedekind found him highly annoying the bard was mostly just disappointed at losing him as a potential carny freak.

## Facing Sedrina the Souless

The Heroes of Prophecy found evidence that Sedrina the Souless had a tower in the Brokenback Swamps. Not only was she responsible for the monsters at the Academy of the Fadalithis that had slain Keysbee and Thorinis, but she seemed to be connected to the conspiracy to collect the artifacts. Dedekind advised heartily against traveling into the swamps or facing a liche, though he was dismissed, especially by Qualin.

They left the Glave Woods for the Brokenback Swamps on 18th of Wolverine. En route they were ambushed by Esther, sent by Sedrina, but also eager to gain revenge on Dedekind. She was accompanied by a great deal of undead, but the Heroes of Prophecy were victorious and Esther was slain. Dedekind had no compunction over her death in this instance, as the Carney Code allowed it as she'd already once been spared (and had been ejected from the carnival.)

On they way they met a trio of other adventurers on their way to slay the liche rumored to be in the swamps and claim the treasure for themselves. An undead hunter named Gabriel led the party, which also included a bard named Elrude and a rouge named Zalin. After some discussion they agreed to join forces.

Within two days they had reached Sedrina's tower. Killing the undead guarding the front they moved in, fighting their way through the undead found there until they reached the top floor, where they faced Sedrina and Ferris' old nemesis Salvok. The fight was incredibly difficult. Within seconds the magic of the villains had turned Vestibule into a statue transported Dandy and Horace elsewhere and slain Zalin.

Salvok was wounded and forced to teleport away to safety, but many of the heroes were knocked unconscious in the process. The final moment came down to Ferris, faced with the severely injured Sedrina. The half-elf had only one spell left, and its blast radius would surely incinerate the unconscious Qualin and Gabriel. Left with no conscious allies and no choice, and believing that both of the men despised undead enough that they would readily give their lives to see the liche's defeat, Ferris let fly with his last *Fireball*. Destroying the liche, and sadly killing Qualin and Gabriel.

Only Ferris, Elrude and Dedekind were left after the fight to pick up the pieces. Ferris believed that the spell that had transported Dandy and Horace had a limited range, and so Dedekind and Elrude went to find them while Ferris went through Sedrina's books for clues and a way to restore Vestibule.

Within a few days the two returned to the tower along with an half-elven ranger named Samara and a gnoll named Ebon Razorfang whom she vouched for, saying that he had saved her from his tribe and been banished for it. By they time they all returned to Sedrina's tower Ferris had managed to restore Vestibule and find another letter indicating that Sedrina was connected to the impostor of Eddie Drezzen.

Dedekind, once healed from the grievous wounds he suffered in battle, gleefully looted Sedrina's tower finding, among other treasures, a strange fish creature with the face of a man in a jar. He immediately claimed it as his own, intending to include it in his freak show when he owned his own carnival.

## An Unintended Diversion

On the 2nd of Sloth, Dedekind, Dandy, Ferris, Ebon, Elrude, Horace, Samara and Vestibule reached Cliffshire. There, inquiries about *Gimo's Playing Cards* brought them to the attention of a halfling named Ganni Luckyfoot. He stated that he'd heard rumors that the cards were in the Uphigh Mountains, and that he was considering an expedition. They negotiated a deal and departed for the mountains with Ganni, but a spell mishap by Ferris landed the entire group (as well as the monsters who'd ambushed them) all the way north into the Dwarven Mountains.

Once they'd gathered their bearings they decided to get back to Cliffshire via a side trip to Emeron City. By the 19th they reached Emeron City. There they reunited with Lylena and Kagami, who agreed to re-join them, though Dandy opted to remain in Emeron with Ebon. Ferris also took the opportunity to hire Martok Stonecutter, a dwarven cleric of Clangeddin, for divine magical support.

After much discussion, and considering the near death of everyone in Sedrina's tower, they handed many of the artifacts off to Jon Sumnim and Jaymes Chickwood for safe keeping. They also requested the arch-mages to magically teleport them to Cliffshire, to which they agreed.

On the 22nd of Sloth, 1129 the *Heroes of Prophecy* were magically transported to Cliffshire to continue their quest for *Gimo's Playing Cards*. Forced to continued with cyclopes and giants they managed to ascend the Uphigh Mountains and found the Temple of Gimo located on a rock formation in the center of a volcano. They came up on a group led by Kagami's brother, Kaze, and in an epic fight slew the party, with the Samurai slaying her brother and throwing him into the volcano. Sadly Elrude too fell in the battle. With the cards in hand, the heroes returned to Cliffshire to continue their journey.

While in Cliffshire, armed finally with enough money to afford the spell, Dedekind was able to hire a cleric in Cliffshire to cast a spell on him to restore his tongue. At last, after so long, Dedekind was able to speak again.

## The Showdown with Eddie Drezzen

In Cliffshire the Heroes of Prophecy met up with Trista Ravenlark and Taltharian. They reported that they'd been ambushed by bandits whom they suspect were sent by the impostor of Eddie Drezzen. Trista's men had been slain in the fight. They began preparations to face Eddie, though Ferris Gerabaldi and Vestibule remained in Cliffshire so the wizard could address matters with his spells misfiring and Kagami remained with them to help protect them. They were joined by a cleric of Brewmaster named Friar Chuck Goldschläger, however.

On the 8th of Yeti, 1130, Dedekind, Lylena, Martok Stonecutter, Samara, Horace, Trista, Taltharian, and Friar Chuck reached Drezzenville. They found the people laboring under harsh taxes from the impostor of Eddie, who had also built up and elite and well equipped force of soldiers loyal to him.

Dedekind devised a plan to create a distraction by releasing the ponies from Eddie's stable and setting it ablaze, which drew enough guards away for the Heroes to sneak into his manor house and an epic battle took place within. When the dust had settled, the manor house had been burned to the the impostor had been slain along with many of his soldiers, but Horace too had died in battle.

Citing the prophecy the Heroes traveled to Home, the capital of the Confederation of Halfling Shires. On the way, however, they were accosted by a patrol stating they had orders to arrest anyone matching the description of Dedekind, Taltharian and Trista (as well as Dandy, Ferris and Elrude, none of whom were present). The party defeated the guards but proceeded with caution once they reached Home.

On the 16th of Yeti, 1130, the Heroes of Prophecy sneaked into the home of Brollo Goldpipe, as he'd been the one to issue the arrest orders in question. There they found that he too was involved in the conspiracy, working closely with the imposer of Eddie Drezzen, and that he too was an impostor. More shocking they found the real Eddie Drezen and Brollo Goldpipe suspended in animation. The heroes freed the halflings, who were shocked to learn that over fifty years had passed since they were imprisoned. Among the items found was the *Shield of Yondolla* and several letters indicating that Starr and the other surviving members of the conspiracy had collected some of the artifacts and were traveling north to collect the last few.

## Getting an Update

Dedekind, Lylena, Martok Stonecutter, Samara, Trista Ravenlark, Taltharian, Friar Chuck Goldschläger, and Eddie Drezzen headed north in the hopes of catching Starr's party and stopping whatever plans they had.

Once the 15th of Toad, 1130, they reached Tralpar and reunited with Ferris Gerabaldi, Kagami of Towa and Vestibule. After discussion they decided to split up. Trista, Eddie, Taltharian and Kagami would head west to attempt to secure the assistance of the elves of the Glave Woods.

Meanwhile, Dedekind, Lylena, Samara, Friar Chuck, Ferris, Vestibule and Martok would proceed north to try to catch and slow down Starr's party. They also took the precaution of splitting the artifacts in their possession between the two groups as well.

Once the latter group reached Emeron City Ferris and Lylena consulted with Professors Sumnim and Chickwood, who informed them that they'd unearthed another part of the prophecy and that they believed they knew Starr's plan. They said that if completed, the enemy would be able to allow a dragon god from another dimension into Goric, where it could ascend to Godhood alongside their gods as well. Since this dragon god was from Ferris and Vestibule's home world, both assured the heroes that they know of her and her teachings, and that she was deeply malevolent.

The professors stated that the ritual would need to be completed by the end of the month or the enemy would miss their chance, but that they did not need all of the artifacts to perform it. They said that while more artifacts would lead to the Dragon Queen being more powerful, the ritual could be completed with as little as one. To that end, they revealed that the next part of the prophecy would require the heroes to return to the Dwarven Mountains.

A few days later Trista, Eddie, Taltharian and Kagami arrived to Emeron and advised that the elves heard the out and said they would consider their request, but that they did not expect that Queen Parthalanis would send any aid.

## Questing in Thorgain

Dedekind, Samara, Friar Chuck Goldschläger, Martok Stonecutter, Eddie Drezzen and Taltharian hired a mountaineering expert named Arroun and made for the Dwarven Mountains to seek the final two artifacts.

On the 14th of Swan, 1130, they reached Gnomedon and located the *Eyeglass of Garl Glittergold* in the possession of a local jeweler named Parikkellovelle. The gnome refused to relinquish it under any circumstances. Meanwhile Ruby, the dragon mate of Starr, paid off a nearby band of ogres to attack Gnomedon to cause a distraction.

The Ogre attack was ultimately repulsed, but while it was occurring, Ruby made for the artifact, killing Parikkellovelle. However Arroun suspected the ogre attack could be a feign and returned to the gnome's gem shop just in time to catch Ruby. Though he died, he succeeded in delaying the dragon long enough for the Heroes of Prophecy to arrive and slay her, securing the *Eyeglass of Garl Glittergold* for themselves.

The party continued to the city of Thorgain, arriving on the 15th of Horse and meeting up with Lylena, Ferris Gerabaldi andVestibule. The trio had lingered in Emeron City to learn the site where the enemy would perform the ritual to allow the Dragon Queen into Goric.

They quickly learned that the *Hammer of Moradin* was held in the possession of the Church of Moradin. They decided to warn the church that a dragon was likely going to come for it. The church's chief guardian, Balim Silverblade, ultimately was convinced to allow the Heroes of Prophecy to help guard the hammer.

That night, the green dragon Emerald took the form of Balim and was able to cast a spell that incapacitated the guardians just long enough for him to flee. The heroes gave chase, but Emerald, still disguised as Balim, ordered the other defenders of the church to attack the Heroes of Prophecy while a liche lobbed spells at them to further confuse and slow the heroes down.

The fight turned out to be incredibly fierce. Dedekind and Friar Chuck had been scouting on the far side of the church when the battle started. They arrived on the battle scene to find that a number of temple guards had been tricked or charmed into fighting Martok while a liche had turned Taltharian into a statue and battled the others. Chuck ran to help Martok while Dedekind, against his own better judgement, ran to help the others. Unfortunately the liche threw up a magical wall of flame while he charged. Dedekind was caught in the fire and burned to death within seconds.

## Appearance and Personality

Dedekind was a large fat man of Molandar ancestry. He was rather woefully out of shape and ill suited for the stresses of adventuring, frequently injuring himself while trying to fight, ride or travel. He had an unusually high voice that was often mistaken for that of a child by those who only heard it. Still, he was a very skilled singer and ventriloquist and had a silver tongue. He was also a capable lute player. While his tongue was removed he communicated by writing in chalk on a slate board.

Dedekind was skilled with a broadsword and a battleaxe, but rarely used them in combat, preferring to strike enemies with a large chest full of coins that he carried. A spell misfire by Ferris Gerabaldi actually made the chest slightly magical and marginally more effective in combat.

Dedekind was a fairly greedy and selfish man focused primarily on wealth acquisition and beginning his own carnival. Nevertheless, for all his complaining he always came through and helped his friends, even dying while trying to aid his comrades in battle.