The Rise of the Midnight Company Campaign Recap

## 1) Wanted News

**Prologue - The Gathering**

The players, Gilifrae, Snorri Nosebiter and Kathola, are brought together by a man called Roland on a slaver's ship. The Slaves rebel and initiate a mutiny which results in the ship crashing along the shore in The Wandering Waters. As the only survivors the players join together and head for Beckon.

The group are supplied with basic necessities and then head for Tarnstead. In Tarnstead the group meet a man called Darrin. He tells the group about Dragonspire, a castle which has been abandoned for over a thousand years. The group find out that the Red Dragon, Galzra, was slain a week ago and people have been looking in the castle for his treasure hoard.

Finding the secret passage into the mountain the group advance up the mountain and into Dragonspire. Carefully maneuvering through the castle and fighting off creatures the group find some ancient tombs within the castle. The group discovers some Orcs and Goblins have found the dragons lair before them and that the treasure has already been taken.

Back in Tarnstead the group meet Darrin once again who tells the group that the people have been panicked by a creature on the outskirts of town.

## 2) Up On The Moors

Darrin tells the group the creature was seen not long after they left for Dragonspire. The creature has been terrifying the villagers and stealing their belongings.

The group begins investigating throughout Tarnstead and find out the creature is an Ogre. Overnight another inhabitant, Sandro, sees the Ogre and has been robbed of his belongings. The group decide to take action and go and investigate the moors.

After waiting for the Ogre the group finally spot it and realise something isn't right about it. They find out its an illusion, mirror image, and a Gnome druid called Erlin is creating the illusion. Sparing the Gnome the group makes him take them to his treasure hoard. They find out the Gnome is stealing money to save his mother, who is dying. The Group return the stolen items to the victims of the Gnome and they let Erlin free.

Back in Tarnstead Darrin finds the group once again and tells them of a meteorite that has crashed into the ground 2 days travel from Tarnstead and they would appreciate the rock so they can research it.

## Into The Darkness - Side Mission

During the investigation of the Ogre in Tarnstead a hooded man is spotted in the streets. The group follow him and he sneaks into a house in the village. Stealthily the group manages to overhear the conversation between the mysterious hooded man and another darkly dressed man who is accompanied by three warriors. The hooded man informs the others of his completed task and of the three newcomers in town (the group). In response the darkly dressed man says that 'The Leader' of The Midnight Company will value this information and that they are one step closer to making The Midnight Company powerful again. It is made clear the rogues of The Midnight Company are part of the bigger plan which is being set into motion by their powerful leaders and wizards. All the men in the room brandish a sigil of a dead tree with a full moon in the sky behind it.

## 3) It Came From The Stars

Darrin and the priests of Tarnstead believe the meteorite is a sign from the Gods and the village wants the rock for thorough investigation and research.

Travelling down south to the meteor crash site the group encounters several rapists, killing them, before moving down south to the border of the Venomous Forest.

The group advanced through the forest and encountered a giant spider nest and several victims caught in the webs. On the other side of the forest the group approach a village called Ironedge.

After spending the night in Ironedge the group continue their journey east making their way towards the meteorite.

When traveling east the group discover a hidden overgrown tunnel entrance that leads to an underground ruin. The group make their way through the undead and trap ridden ruin and come upon a Dwarven tomb, for the war hero Droskar.

Continuing to travel east the group eventually come across an army of orcs and goblins worshiping the meteorite. The group challenge their greatest warrior for ownership of the meteorite. The group engage in combat with Glurag, an ogre around 2/3 feet smaller then usual. After losing the combat the orc and goblin tribe disbands and continues on their journey. The meteorite is black and contains many crystals and red streaks flowing down it.

Back in Tarnstead the group visit Father Marcellus who begins to research to meteorite.

## 4) Murder In The Wind

The group decide to head back to Ironedge in order to complete some research on The Midnight Company. The group once again decide to travel through the Venomous Forest and encounter a colony of giant centipedes.

In the village the group heads to the library where they meet Dimitri who refers them to a book called 'The Collected History of the Combined Empire'. Dimitri gifts the group the map of the northern continent, Vizall.

Back in the tavern the group find out a young girl, Aleesia, has gone missing and was last seen 3 days ago. Delano gives the group a coded letter he found in one of his rooms and tell the group about the mysterious man who was staying in the room who left just 2 days ago.

The group meet Aleesia's long distance lover, Mallin, and he shares the last letters she sent to him and the group are able to cross-reference the letters to the coded letter to decipher the coded letter. The coded letter reveals she was talking to a man named Dorian and she wants to help him, in secret, change the world.

The group begin to search Aleesia's room and find another coded letter hidden in her room and find out she was heading to the abandoned tower just south of Ironedge.

Heading down the group encounters some goblins and eventually find themselves outside the Forsaken Tower. They find the tower has been trapped. At the top of the tower the group finds a young girl tied to a post with her intestines hanging out she is surrounded by candles and offering bowls resembling some kind of ritual. They hear someone approaching from the staircase and encounter a rogue with The Midnight Company sigil on his clothes. The beat and interrogate the rogue but before they can gain any useful information he says "The Shadow King will rise again from the darkness!" and then bites down on a cyanide tooth.

The group bring the body back to be buried and are told Darrin wants to meet them in Tarnstead in 3 days time as he has another mission for them.

## 5) Animal Psychosis

The group leave Ironedge and head back to Tarnstead. In Tarnstead Darrin tells the group that there has been sightings of feral animals near Megara and they have even attacked some of the people. Megara is around 1100 miles away and takes over a weeks travel by horse to get there.

During their travels Gilifrae has a dream during the night about a beautiful elven woman stood in luxurious gown which sways in the wind she holds her hand out and says "Come with me" and Gilifrae gets up and follows her. The group wake up to see Gilifrae walking towards nothing with his hand help out. Gilifrae stops on top of a barrow with overgrown tombstones peaking out of the ground. Gilifrae seems to be talking to nobody but suddenly an elven woman becomes visible who screams and flies towards the group. As she flies towards the group she begins to fade and an outline of a dark shadow creature appears. The group kills the Shadow and finds a minor loot horde in the barrow.

Bergrom tells the group Roslik Stultz, the head of the town, wants to see them. The group head to Blackborne House where Roslik tells them within the last week or so the animals in the local woodland have gone feral and attacking people.

In the woods, north-east of Megara, the group find hoof prints of what appears to be an aurochs. They follow the tracks and find the aurochs but it doesn't look as it should it has red eyes, patches of skin missing, bulbous patches, burns and has a fifth leg growing from its side. The patches and burns seem to be chemical burns often associated with chemicals used by wizards to make potions and certain spell components. The group also find out after killing it the burns are caused by certain combination of chemicals. Further in the woods the group find a whole host of animals fighting one another with similar looking misshapen features. The group follow a large patch of tracks to a large stream, clearly the water source for the animals. There is a black liquid coursing through the water.

Following the stream the group are attacked by a feral boar and eventually spot a tower in the distance. When at the base of the tower the group are unable to find the black liquid. They do however find a small hole in the tower which is releasing a small tickle of green liquid. Bellow this hole is a containing half buried in the soil in the stream, this container contains a darker green liquid which is causing a strong reaction as they touch. Further down the tower is another hole which is releasing a red liquid into the water which eventually is met by the green liquid mix which causes it to bubble and manifest as a rapidly producing black substance. The group block the holes in the tower to stop the production of the substance and take samples of all the separate liquids.

In Fortitude Tower the group find the liquids are coming from a destroyed alchemy lab. The tower seems to be ransacked and destroyed. Upon the roof the group find an old man tied to a post with his hands above his head with his intestines hanging out there is a bowl by his feet containing remnants of burnt materials. The bowl is the same as the one used by The Midnight Company when Aleesia was murdered. The man has clearly been dead for several days now.

Back in Megara research makes it clear with the production of the black liquid being stopped the effects in the water will fade eventually due to no intense build up and the animals will return to themselves but will be badly scared.

## 6) Elven Paradise – Part 1

Gilifrae begins dreaming that he is walking down an old dirt road next to a huge dead tree. The area is overgrown suddenly a huge city just appears before his eyes the architecture is astonishing and clearly elven. The entrance has collapsed and shows no sign of entry. A sign next the entrance says 'Kholis' and he realises nobody else is around. A bright light appears before Gilifrae in the shape of a person holding its hand out it says "Find me!" it then proceeds to say "What you are searching for is here. The hidden vault hides what you need come and find it" the bright light in the shape of a person fades to black then disappears. The word 'Kholis' echos through his head.

Roslik tells the group his good friend Bodak Rildonas may know about Kholis, he has a book and antiques shop in Slico around 400 miles away.

In Slico the group go to the library and meet Elias who refers them to books about The Midnight Company and the group become more informed about the Mythos.

In Bodak's Antiques the group find out about the ancient elven city of Kholis and they need to find the key in order to enter the city. Bodak tells the group about a man called Gladane Selefarian, who lives on the Emerald Enclave in a house called Emerald Utopia, who maybe be able to help with the keys location.

The group find a boat called The Black Empire and its captain Holdrim who will take them to the Emerald Enclave. On the boat the group meet a man called Hosem who they drink with. Later they take him back to his room as he can't stand. In the morning Brayden has lost his medallion that has an elf fighting a dragon on it and is surrounded by 20 diamonds and on the back of it there is a cross that sticks out along with 7 semi-spheres sticking out of the back in the form of a star. He blames Hosem who is arrested as the guards had no change over and saw nobody enter the corridor where Hosem and Brayden's rooms are.

The group begins investigating and find no drunk man could have taken it without waking Brayden. They soon find out a woman called Zara has also lost an ear ring. They also discover food has been going missing. The group find the ear ring as well as some food crumbs in a back room. Back in the kitchen the group find small foot prints, with only 2 toes, in the flour they track the prints and find hidden passages within the walls and discover the creature is a Quickling. The group defeat the Quickling and release Hosem from the cells.

The group parts ways with Hosem and Brayden, who head to their homes, and the group head to Emerald Utopia.

## 7) Elven Paradise - Part 2

Inside Emerald Utopia the group meet an ancient elf named Gladane Selefarian in the hopes he can help them with finding the Key to Kholis.

Gladane tells the group about the Key of Knowledge and about Taranath Admenor and his ultimate power of allowing those entrance to Kholis. Kholis was a city full of high born elves which was built to protect all that was in its vaults, under any circumstances. Gladane gives the group the Journal of Taranath Admenor, which has been in his family for generations. Gladane believes one of his great grandfathers first came into its possession but the reason why remains to be discovered.

The book reveals a note in the margin which say "In the tides I reside. Upon the most southern Island is my highland. Past the naked tree you will see just three. Which will you enter if not the centre? If it comes out at night then it will surely be right**."** The group work out they must go to the Naked Island in the Plutil Tides.

Gladane teleports the group to the Naked Island and they begin walking south from the northern peak. The island is almost completely flat and has no life or vegetation covering it. It begins to rain and lightning and the group follow the lightning to the highest piece of land.

Upon finding a dead tree on the island the group search the tree and find a loose piece of bark with a handle underneath it. Pulling the handle causes three elven cube structures with doors to raise out of the ground. Each door has an animal on it, the middle door a Human, the left door an Aardvark and the right door a Hyrax. Upon finding out that Aardvarks are nocturnal and that the Hyrax is diurnal the group go through the left door as the Aardvark comes out at night.

The group enter Taranath Admenor’s Sanctum and pass through the trap ridden passages. A large earth elemental glides through the wall at the dead end of the passage saying the group are not allowed any further into Admenor's Sanctum. The elemental reshapes the wall to reveal a hidden message: "This old one runs forever, though it has no legs to be seen. It topples down mountains, but never moves at all. It possesses no heat, yet it does have steam. It has no voice to let words out, but from far away you can still hear it shout. What am I?" The elemental tells them to think hard as there is only one of Vizall.

The group leave the Sanctum and work out they need to go to the waterfall on Vizall. Gladane appears and takes the group to Dracaster. The group then walks to the Crystal Creek Falls.

The group find a well hidden trap door and head into the tunnels below. In the room there are four statues with their hands out, one has an item in his hands which has three prongs sticking upwards. The other three statues lack items but show there used to be items in their place. The group realise one of the missing items is Brayden's Gold Medallion from the Black Empire.

Gladane teleports to the group and says he has found something in Admenor's Journal.

## 8) Elven Paradise - Part 3 (Medallion Route)

Back in Emerald Utopia Gladane tells the group of a magical aura which was dispersed across the entire continent when they opened the trap door at Crystal Creek Falls. Gladane says when the aura got to the Emerald Enclave it caused a temporal disruption which caused some hidden writing to appear in Admenor's Journal. The writing says:

"My Medallion will open the Crypt south of Solaris, but it will also have a further use at a later date."

"South of the Rolling Sands is my Crucible. In order to find the next part of the key you must complete the tasks required.” Gladane says the magical aura could have caused the Crucible to appear in the southern wastelands of the Rolling Sands. Gladane gives the group an immaculate golden statue to trade for the medallion.

The group set off to Brayden's cottage in the east. The group come across a bridge allowing hem passage across a river when a river drake bursts out of the water.

At Brayden's Cottage the group eventually persuade Brayden and his wife to trade the statue for the medallion with the condition that they trade them back when they have used it for what they need.

Back at Emerald Utopia Gladane teleports the group to the Silver Cove. The group find Captain Ziren who allows them passage to Yrst aboard The Violent Tiger.

When travelling south towards the Crypt on Yrst the group are ambushed and attacked by three rogues of The Midnight Company. After 4 days of travelling they reach Solaris and stay overnight.

Their journey to find the Crypt leads the group to an adventurer called Maverick who tells them of an Elven stone structure which has seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Upon finding the well hidden structure the group translate the Elven text on the door - “The Crypt of Admenor Taranath: My most prized medallion will allow you entry!” The group place the medallion in the centre of the door and make their way inside.

Inside the Crypt the group discover a statue holding its hands out as if to hold something. They soon realise whatever it once held has gone. The discover this is due to a recent excavation as the back wall has been knocked down with a tunnel leading down to it from the surface. They also find a book called Hobram Virsk’s Expedition and Excavation Log. The book recounts months worth of digging and excavation in search for a mystical item called The Void Crusher. The book mentions evidence pointed to the item being located on Yrst. The final entry in the book mentions how they found a metal pole with a tree on top instead and that the excavation team are moving their equipment and findings back to Skaro in order to sell the items so they can fund their next expedition to find The Void Crusher.

Gladane teleports the group to Myrr and they head East to Skaro. On their travels they come across a skeletal troll which they defeat and make their way to the main city gates of Skaro.

## 9) Elven Paradise - Part 4 (Medallion Route)

At Skaro the group find out Hobram Virsk is holding his annual celebrationwhere their will be activities in the main courtyard where tickets to the ball and the great feast will be provided to the winners.

The group take part in several of the activities winning gold and one ticket to the ball. The group then purchase two additional tickets to the ball.

As the group wander the city the come across a woman called Miya who has been beaten and thrown out of Hobram's home for not doing her job properly and snooping around. She tells the group she noticed people bringing crates and boxes into the house and heading into the sub-basement. She tells the group their is a safe down their and the key to it is rumored to be in Hobram's study, in the family dwellings on the fourth floor. Miya also tells the group that only personal servants are allowed into the family dwellings to which there are three ways in.

1) From the Private grounds surrounded by walls 100 feet highwith 5 guards wandering the perimeter.

2) From the main entrance staircase on the first floor with 2 guards.

3) From the servant’s hall on the second floor which has 1 guard.

She tells tells the group about the guard's chamber which leads to the safe. There are two keys to the chamber and it is locked from the inside. The head duty guard and Hobram are the people who have the keys to the chamber.

Guards change at 6am, 2pm and 10 pm.

Guards take food at 10am, 6pm and 2am.

Larger items are taken to a heavily guarded vault but Miya has no idea where it is or even if its attached to the house.

The group congregate in Hobram's home for the introduction ceremony and then head to the servant's hall by distracting the guard. The group begin looking for a staircase leading to the family dwellings.

The group sneak into the family dwellings and upon spending too much time searching around they hear guards coming to patrol the area. The group pick the lock and head up to Hobram's study to hide.

In the study there is a golden pyramid attached to the table. The pyramid has a three digit padlock combination attached to it and some text written in abyssal which reads "The height of the pyramid is the key". Along the base is the number "230" and along the slopped side is the number "277". The group use Pythagoras to work out the answer as 252. Inside is a silver key with a demonic skull on top. The group lie in wait and pretend to take the guards food at the allocated time and then fight their way inside the chamber upon them unlocking the door.

Inside the safe is the metal pole with the tree on top as well as an ancient idol of a person with a demon erupting out of its mouth. The group leave the building by distracting further guards with magic. Gladane appears when the group are out in the city and teleport them away before Hobram discovers its been taken.

## 10) Elven Paradise - Part 5 (Rolling Sands Route)

Gladane offers to teleport the group to Myrr, but from there they must make their own way to The Rolling Sands to find the next part of the key.

The group travel to the port in Myrr where they find that Captain Gak-Rar is travelling to Sakont and will drop the group off at The Hammer. The group climb aboard The Night Demon where they are taken to The Rolling Sands.

Travelling the desert the group are attacked by a giant scorpion and after several hours of travelling they notice a sign that points North to Xita and North West to Ozleross. Gilifrae notices a small piece of text under the Ozleross in Elven that says The Crucible. The group follow the sign North West.

Eventually the groups come across an old stone doorway sticking out of the sand. Next to the door is a stone bowl and above the door is more Elven writing that says "The Crucible: To enter pure Elven Blood is required." Gilifrae cuts his hand and puts his blood in the bowl. A purple light begins to glow and the door folds backwards and then moves down into the ground. Beyond is a spiral staircase leading down.

At the bottom is a large roomed lined with stone columns and a door guarded bu a suit of armour. As the approach the armour is blocks the door with its axe and says "In order to pass, my riddle you must answer." Upon guessing the right answer to the riddle the armour holds his hand out and a key appears in his hand as if by magic and unlocks the door. Beyond the door is an identical room with another suit of armour blocking the door out of the room. The group do this four times answering all four riddles correctly. The last door opens into a room that contains a staircase leading up to a room that appears to be floating.

At the top of the stairs is a doorway that leads into the open floating room containing a statue which is holding the next part of the key. Above the door is a piece of writing that says "Only the purest and most good of heart can travel any further enter at your own risk." Kathola walks up the stairs and enters the room, there is a sudden flash a light as an overwhelming aura of magic engulfs her body. She tries to resist the magic but is unable and is reduced to a pile of dust. Gilifrae enters the room hesitantly as he feels his body resist the powerful magic. Due to his lawful good nature he is allowed passage into the room where he take the next part of the key, half of a metal pole with a tree on top.

The group emerge back into the desert as the stone doorway begins to descend into the sand and completely vanish bellow. Gladane teleports to the group in The Rolling sands and take them back to the Emerald Utopia.

Upon arrival Gladane realises something isn't right and someone is in his house. Gladane teleports to his lounge as Snorri is ambushed by a Halfling rogue of The Midnight Company. The group incapacitate the rogue to question him but before they can gain any information from him he bites down on his cyanide tooth. The group make their way towards the fighting in the lounge where they see Gladane is fighting a dark wizard of The Midnight Company. The group dodge an incoming fireball as they try enter the lounge then Gladane casts a spell which disperses a blast of energy which knocks the group away from the doorway which then slams shut behind them. Eventually the battle comes to a halt. The door unlocks and the group burst in. Gladane comes staggering down the stairs and all that remains of the dark wizard is a pile of dust. The group tell Gladane that The Midnight Company are likely after The Key of Knowledge, which they now own in its entirety, so they can get to the vaults in Kholis. The group rest up in Gladane's home as they wait for his condition to improve.

## 11) Elven Paradise - Part 6 - The Discovery of Kholis

During the week as they wait for Gladane to recover the group piece together The Key of Knowledge. Gladane offers to teleport the group to the Silver Cove but from there they will need to get a boat to The Isle of Holmmere.

The group find Captain Krojo who offers to take them down to Bledmarke. A boat called The Efficient Mind pulls into the dock and a woman called Ciri climbs off and joins the group on their adventure to defeat The Midnight Company.

The group board The Silver Squid and begin their journey south. Several days into the journey the ship is attacked by a giant octopus. The group begin attacking the tentacles before the giant octopus runs away. The group eventually arrive at Bledmarke.

The group decide how they want to search for Kholis and Gilifrae tells the group due to his dream he knows its by the coast. The group begins to circumnavigate The Isle of Holmmere, clockwise, and after many weeks of searching the group eventually notice part of the island that looks like it has been cracked off and is missing. They then realise a large patch of water isn't behaving as it should, the patch of ocean isn't moving and waves don't pass through it. They walk out onto the water and suddenly the water vanishes and land appears all around them in its place.

The land ahead is overgrown and thriving with greenery. The group begin pushing their way through the overwhelming greenery. Suddenly a mystical city appears before the group.

An invisible barrier stops the group entering Kholis. The group find a large stone circle on the floor and uses The Key of Knowledge and the Golden Medallion to activate the entrance into Kholis. As the key clicks into place there is a sudden dispersion of magic and light erupts out of the top of the tree and engulfs the group in a sphere of light then teleports them into the city.

Inside Kholis is in ruins it seems to have been bombarded with huge stones and the skeletons of Elves are scattered across the city. The group notice an undamaged statue and as they move towards it the Caryatid Columnsteps off the podium and attacks the group. After defeating it the group notice the streets are lined with them and decide to sneak through the buildings that are still intact to avoid them. They find a Type IV Bag of Holding among other loot before making their way towards the Capital Building.

The Capital Building as been bombarded and has taken a lot of structural damage. Inside is a heavily locked metal door and another unlocked corridor that leads down. It eventually leads to a study guarded by a Stone Guardian Golem Gilifrae enters the room and the statue doesn't come to life the rest of the group follows and it steps off the podium and attacks the rest of the group. After defeating it the group find three keys hidden in the room.

The group backtrack to the heavily locked metal door and unlock it. This leads down into the basement. In the basement is a room reminiscent of a bank vault lined with separate booths. Behind them is a door which is locked and none of the keys fit. Searching around the group finds a flap in one of the booths with a key inside which unlocks the door. Inside is a staircase to the left and right which have been covered with tons of rubble from the bombardment. In front is a small vault with 2 key holes on the left and right. The group put the keys in the vault and turn them at the same time and the vault door slides open.

The vault contains lots of deposit boxes and five magic items, four in the pile and one behind the wall, which is immensely powerful. The group search and find a leaver inside a deposit box pulling it causes a thin section of wall to move revealing a small safe. The group uses one of the keys found in the study to open the safe. Inside is a spherical item its centre swirls and and moves showing what seems to be the night sky full of stars it is so powerful the items aura can be felt and seems to glow. They are unable to work out what it is. Inside there is also an old map.

As they leave the vaults defender, a huge Earth Elemental damaged by the bombardment, attacks the group for stealing from the vaults of Kholis. They attack its weak spots and defeat the elemental. The group then leave the Capital building.

Gladane doesn't appear so the group uses the key to teleport themselves back out of the city. As soon as they leave the city they are frozen solid and unable to move. A shadowed figure appears before the group, laughing. He glides over to the group and takes the magic spherical item from them.

“You fools! I didn’t expect to be able to trick you so easily. You did exactly what I wanted you to do. All it required was for me to plant a vision in your elf’s head and you accomplished what I never could. For you have brought me The Shadow Balance from within the vaults of the city. Now I can be made whole again and can leave the Shadow Realm permanently and be re-introduced to this plane of existence as the all-powerful Shadow King!”

Suddenly the figure vanishes and group can move once again. They walk back to the mainland and watch as the city vanishes and becomes the illusion of water once again. Eventually Gladane appears stating he was unable to scry on them, due to a Mythal over Kholis which was also responsible for the illusion and also meant evil creatures couldn't enter the city. Gladane mentions they could reform the city and build it back into a thriving city so it isn't lost forever.

## 12) Undead Rising - Part 1

Several weeks have passed since the Shadow King revealed his plan to remove his physical form from within the Shadow Realm by using the Shadow Balance to transcend the Human and Shadow Realms with the aid of the Midnight Companies Necromancers.

As the group plan their next steps the sound of people panicking in the streets of Lison becomes apparent. Hundreds of people are making their way into the city, Tristan Lockridge is helping the people. He asks for as many volunteers as possible to give these people a temporary place to live as they begin building a refugee camp. He also asks for an emergency meeting with the council. The city militia is informed about the problem and asked if they can spare any men.

The group begin questioning the refugees and quickly find out that Silvervale was overrun by a large unit of undead that seemed strangely orchestrated of mindless undead. They also find out that undead have not roamed the continent like that for thousands of years. A man called Zitis offers them help on their reconnaissance mission to Silvervale.

Upon arriving at Silvervale the group hide on a hilltop under the cover of darkness and notice the village is surrounded with undead and there are workers digging in the centre of the village. They also notice several guards posted around the village, alone.

Skeletons burst out of the ground around them so the group engages. Zitis suggests confronting some of the guards as going into the centre would be a suicide mission. The group takes out one of the guards but before they beat him he grabs a necklace from around his neck and throws it down a narrow crack in the earth. As the guard lay dying the group intimidate him and he tells them that the necklace would help them stop the undead hoard and that he has no idea what the digging is for. He was approached by a hooded figure and asked to this job and gave him the necklace.

The group can hear natural running water down the crack and find an overgrown cave entrance nearby which leads to some natural caverns. The caverns lead to a huge hole in the ground but the walls around it look climbable. After climbing the wall the group notice a couple of morlocks in the darkness. Defeating the morlocks the group discover a hole in the floor as the caven comes to an end. The hole descends 80ft which the group uses a rope to climb down. The tunnel continues but is eventually blocked off by small boulders from a cave in. The group moves the boulders and find the passages moves off left and right.

The group split up. Left leads down and opens into a larger tunnel with a huge drop, a waterfall is crashing down from above ground, creating an underground waterfall. The tunnel continues on the other side and the group traverse a narrow ledge to get to the tunnel.

Right leads to a section of cave that has collapsed which they manage to squeeze through. It leads to the same waterfall, just the opposite side so they are able to traverse the same ledge to get to the tunnel.

The tunnel goes deeper into the tunnel and opens out into a huge cavern with a natural stone walkway with water flowing bellow from where the waterfall ended. The group realise that there are unusual puddles of water on the walkway which are identified as an ochre jelly which they engage. Beyond the walkway is bridged with planks of wood which seem relatively safe but beginning to weaken. All the group pass except Snorri whose weight breaks the plank he dives onto the walkway gripping on and the group rush to pull him up just before falling down.

Going deeper the group realise they are now directly bellow the crack where the necklace was thrown down. They find the necklace and find it it was some kind of abjuration effect on it and they discover that it is linked to some powerful magic. Gilifrae believes it is required to forgo the effects of an abjuration effect. Zitis suggests taking it back to Lison so they can work out what the magic on it is and see if they can replicate it. He believes that they may be able to trace the magic to find out their next step.

Back at Lison the wizards assess the necklace and say “We believe we can make extra copies of it and work out what magic is on it. With enough time we can almost certainly trace the magic it’s linked to find out where this is all occurring from, but it will take several weeks to do so, maybe even months.” He agrees that it might be the only way to stop the undead.

## 13) Undead Rising - Part 2

6 weeks has passed and scouts have reported that the digging at Silvervale has finished. The group us requested by Father Alistair and Father Tobias in the Temple.

Several breakthroughs have been made firstly several copies of the amulet have been made. Secondly the magic which the amulet has been linked to has been traced to the northwest, in the far corner of The Backbone of the World. Thirdly after digging deep into the items magical barrier they witnessed a power surged which uncovered where the item was made, Orcmountain. It is currently unclear as to why they are involved as they usually mind their own business.

Gar Stormhammer, the city militia general, is marching his men up to Orcmountain to find out what the orcs are doing, this will also act as a distraction while the group travels up to the Backbone to stop the undead. This battle will also likely divert any troops from the Backbone to defend Orcmountain.

Tristan Lockridge finishes his meeting and invites the group in to discuss their next step. He tells the group to get a boat and do it quietly as its a covert operation, his troops are not trained for this kind of mission. The boat is being prepared and will meet them west of here in the Surging River to which it will take the group northwest into the Wandering Waters dropping them off on the edge of the Backbone.

The group take horses to get to the boat and get an unusual feeling as they are travelling. Eventually the group meet up with Captain Dragongrog of The Black Magic. As they are travelling the group go past the site of their boat crash when they used to be slaves. The Black Magic stops on the edge of the mountain range and lets the group depart.

At the Backbone the snow begins to thicken and the group get that same feeling once again. The group notice an Ice Troll in the distance and engage it. In the distance the group notice a large group of undead and begin watching it from afar. As they are watching that same feeling strikes them again as they are suddenly ambushed by a Dark Stalker.

The group notice that as the undead walk towards the mountain they seem to vanish and some seem to just appear as they walk away from the mountain. The group make a detour to avoid the undead and approach the mountain from the side. The group walk through a magical barrier around the mountain which feels to open up around them and pushes it to the side.

Inside the magical barrier the snow has stopped and their is a stone tower built into the side of the mountain. from atop a bright green light is firing into the sky. The entrance to the tower is surrounded by undead but they notice that their is a pathway that leads up the side of the mountain around the back of the tower. The path leads to a stone bridge that leads to the tower. Picking the locks to the tower the group notice that there are 2 half-orc guards in the next room, which they take out and steal their keys to the other floors of the tower. A staircase reside in the far corner of the room.

A huge metal door blocks their way which the keys unlock. Inside there is 20 prison cells, 13 of which contain dead people. 2 cells contain people who are extremely malnourished and their ribs can be seen. One cell is empty and the remaining 4 cells have people in who are alive shaking with fear. Though they are skinny they are relatively big men with lots of facial hair and only know broken common possibly barbarian. The group help the men out of their cells. A stair case ascends to the rooftop.

On the roof their is a large device with a blue electric glow around the base which is firing the green beam into the sky. In front of the device the group see a robed man with a Midnight Company logo on it. In front of him there is a man lying on a table the robed man notices the group begins to cast and vanishes with the body. Suddenly a dark figure begins to materialise in front of the group and a wrath attacks them and they defeat it. There seems to be noway to turn off the device to Snorri begins attacking the slightly exposed blue core. When the core is destroyed there is a large build up of energy that causes an explosion which bursts into a bright white glow forcing the group backwards. The white light spreads out as far as the eye can see and images become visible in the groups heads.

**Snorri**

As the white light engulfs you images of an army walking in unison can be seen marching across a destroyed wasteland. They are clad in jet black armour and as they walk a dark sky is materialising overhead.

**Gilifrae**

The white light passes through you and an image of a mountain explodes into thousands of pieces and rains down upon the continent. As the debris begins to settle a huge arm comes out from the mountain gripping the landscape and a huge fire storm erupts overhead.

**Darkshadow**

As the white light completely covers you images begin to form in your head. A dead warrior lies on the ground surrounded by pure darkness, a crack opens up in the darkness, light enters, and a dark cloud seeps in and merges with the dead warrior. He begins to shake and light pours out from under his horned helmet. He stands up draws his sword and makes his way towards the crack in the darkness.

**Ciri**

As the white light encircles you, you see a dark void open before you in front of thousands of people. A cloud of darkness comes erupting out of the void and engulfs the people who are submitted on the floor. Once the darkness has gone the void closes and all the people stand in unison and begin equipping themselves with black leather and daggers.

The Frozen Spire begins to collapse around them. The group run back out of the tower with the surviving warriors dodging the collapsing stone. Looking back the group sees the Frozen Spire slide down the face of the mountain falling to the depths. It smashes into pieces as it smashes down the face of the mountain. The undead are dead on the floor around the mountain and as they leave the magical barrier seems to have been destroyed and looking back its still visible confirming this to the group.

Before the group a light appears and Father Alistair walks out and tells the group that magical aura has been felt across the entire world and wants to know what has happened. He tells them there has been an unseen problem with the advance on Orcmountain and the militia didn't find what they expected to when they arrived and only a few of the hundreds have come back. He then teleports the group back to Lison.

## 14) An Ancient Discovery

Tristan tells the group about the slaughter at Orcmountain. There was only 11 survivors from the entire city militia and they are being looked after with the survivors from the Frozen Spire. The militia found the orcs dead both inside and outside the mountain so a fraction of the militia moved inside. Piercing deadly screams came from within the mountain when men came running out followed by a creature on all fours which smashed through the wall. The surviving members of the militia described the creature as having razor sharp claws around 2 foot long, fiery red eyes filled with anger, two 6-foot white and red horns protruding from its head, a huge jaw lined with razor sharp teeth and a tough natural armour that lined the creature leading to an armoured tail with a large club-like protrusion at the end of it. From their estimates we believe this creature to be around 40 foot long.

As the creature began devouring the militia a deep horn began echoing through the mountains the militia were flanked by a small army of soldiers clad in black armour and brandished long swords. The militia outnumbered the soldiers 5 to 1 but it didn't help, the militia only managed to kill a handful of the soldiers. After the battle the elite warriors walked west and into the night. The creature is still out there and seemed to take no damage.

Tristan also tells the group that every month they get a shipment of goods and materials from a mine run by the dwarves but its been 7 weeks since their last supply drop. They have a good relationship with the dwarves and are always on time. The group decide to investigate this matter and go to speak to Heinrich about the mining company.

Heinrich is the blacksmith who makes equipment from the materials provided by the dwarves. He tells the group of his friend Dolgruid Warstone who is a miner in the Tunnelworks Corporation. Heinrich marks the mine on their map and the group set off.

They pass over the Surging River and through Pinewood and Myra in turn. They then travel east to the mine. They find the mine entrance to discover that it is deserted and all the posts are unmanned.

The enter the mine and follow the mine cart tracks down the biggest tunnel. The tunnels show no signs of dwarves and have an increasing amount of spider webs in them. The tunnel leads on and splits to the left and right.

Heading right the group discover some hogs that are tangled in webs which have been drained. The group also find some sapphires which have been left on the floor suggesting the dwarves left in a hurry.

Heading left there is dead animals and skeletons of people tangled in webs and they notice a huge black spider in a hole in the roof. They attack the spider and kill it. The tunnels leads to a huge open room filled with mine cart tracks but nobody is in sight. They hear the sound of metal hitting the floor from a room on their right. It is full of equipment and mining tools they notice scratches on the floor next to a shelving unit. Behind is a hole which has been carved into the stone and within is a man sat cowering. Kolja tells the group that he came to survey the excavation team when the dwarves started going mad and killed his men with whatever they could find. He says he saw some of the dwarves heading down the main tunnel.

They head down the main tunnel along the mine tracks and they notice four angry dwarves running towards them brandishing weapons. They don't listen to the groups shouts and they notice that their skin is covered with red welts and their eyes are red and bloodshot. The fight the dwarves and find a book in a spiders web called The Journal of Galvom Stronghorn.

**Passage from 5 weeks ago**

This morning we started working early, mining and preparing the goods which are due to be sent to Lison in 2 weeks’ time. Around mid-day one of the miners let out a shocking gasp and called for the rest of the miners to come see what he had found. Embedded in the stone walls, Bakrol Bronzebane had found a red crystalline ore. Our experts began analysing the stone and determined it to be a new element of which we have never seen before. Could it be what the dwarves have been looking for, for over a thousand years? Kings over 5 generations have been looking for the proposed element, Tyranium, could this be it?

**Passage from 4 weeks ago**

Over the last week we have found a whole vain of this ore, which we can only hope is Tyranium. Finding this proposed element has been a secondary objective passed down from King to King and then to the Dwarven miners. We have been mining this ore for a solid week and have collected dozens and dozens of carts full. I am hoping King Molgruck Stormbeard will be overwhelmed and overjoyed with our discovery. Several days ago we sent a messenger to inform the King and send some men over to validate and collect this ore.

**Passage from 3 weeks ago - Final entry**

Some of the men have started to change over the last few days lots of fights have started occurring between the men mainly started by Bakrol Bronzebane. Also most of the men have started growing strange red welts on their skin, even I have some that are starting to appear. We have been working double time in the mine over the last 2 weeks in order to collect all this Tyranium we have been mining and also preparing the goods which are to be sent to Lison in a couple of days. If the men keep acting up and fighting each other and these welts get worse I don’t really know what we will do!

The group head deeper into the mine to the location where the "Tyranium" was being mined from. Inside they notice huge piles of a red crystalline ore and around 20 - 25 carts full of the same material. The walls are lined with it and looks like nothing they have ever seen before. The group hear footsteps coming from behind them. Two dwarves come into view the female steps forward and says they are taking the Tyranium. The other dwarf remains silent but is clearly a magic user. They say that they will take it by force if they have to and that the king can have his share but they are taking the rest. The group decide to negotiate with the dwarves and Snorri suggests a proposition that they can do whatever they want with the element but suggests they pay for it to avoid a fight for it. The two dwarves pay the group their gold for the element and the group take a small sample and leave the dwarves in the mine.

Back at Lison the group tells Tristan what happened in the mine and he gets his best men working on the element to find out more about it and pays them in gems for doing it for them.