The Nutcrackers

Peeno's Pub, the headquarters of The Nutcrackers

### Notable Members

Colton Aumont, Dranaar the Well-Endowed, Ogo Drafro, Jonny Sween, Alfred Queably, Durand Godsgrief, Eyranis Shadowstepper, Akileer of Zykran (deceased)

### Area(s) served

Lyria, Aedirn

The Nutcrackers are a band of adventurers formed in the small village of Millfields, in the former Kingdom of Lyria now occupied by the Dwendalian Empire. They have grown exponentially in wealth and fame in recent times, known for defeating two dragons and a demon in defence of the Kingdom of Lyria, battling a giant octopus on the high seas and commandeering the flagship of the Dwendalian Empire, the Truth and Reconciliation.

## **Known Members**

The group consists of:

* Ogo Drafro- a Tiefling warlock, spent majority of his life on a pirate ship under the command of The Scourge, Captain Grimmel, where he witnessed the massacre of the ship’s crew as well as Grimmel at the hands of Malekith Bowie, whom he now hunts to exact his vengeance.
* Alfred Queabley- a Gnome Wizard that saw his home destroyed and family wiped out as a child, growing up in the slums of Oxcross running drugs for The Crownsplitters before being trained as a wizard by Lady Kima of Summerhall.
* Colton Aumont- a Human Ranger of the noble House Aumont, grew up in the lap of luxury in Bowerstone before losing his wealth, status and sight in a game of chance with a mysterious mage. His sight restored by a dying ranger after living in destitution, he now hunts the mysterious mage.
* Jonny Sween- a Human Druid of mysterious nature and origins, whose elusive persona has earned him mythical status and the moniker 'The Stranger'. Donning the pelt of a polar bear as a hood and harnessing the forces of nature in battle, his intentions remain unknown.
* Dranaar the Well-Endowed- a Dragonborn Paladin, sworn to the Divine Dragon Imperius, god of honor and war. Far from his home and his clan, Dranaar seeks to serve his deity on the war-ravaged continent of Albion.
* Eyranis, Shadow-Stepper- a Drow Rogue, a mysterious assassin under the employ of the equally mysterious crime lord known as The Gentleman. His past remains unknown, his only motivations seemlingly to cross more names off his list.
* Durand Godsgrief- A Human Bard, a musician of well-renown, Durand met the Nutcrackers at the funeral of Akileer and proved an extremely competent ally in an ensuing battle. He has travelled with the band for some time now, proving his worth as a figher and entertainer.
* Akeelir of Zykran- a Aasimar fighter, a wanderering monster hunter with no memory of his past life, haunted by dreams of bloodshed and terror. Akileer's path crossed with a dark weapon named Craven Edge, which eventually consumed his soul.

## **History**

### **Chapter I: Enter, Pursued by Backstories**

#### **The Journey Begins**

As if deigned by fate, the core members of what would become The Nutcrackers met by chance at The Bull & Bear Inn in the small village of Millfields, recently captured by The Dwendalian Empire. After Alfred, drunk and dejected, attempted to seduce a barmaid, Dranaar the Well-Endowed and Ogo Drafro stepped in to save him from an enraged barkeep. A rowdy bar fight then erupts after a band of red-cloaked ruffians assault the establishment for their display of a sigil of the Dwendalians. Colton Aumont joins the fight, which ends outside with the bandits dead. A patrol of Dwendalians arrive to investigate the disturbance, informing the victors of a bounty on the so-called 'Redbrand Ruffians'- 2gb for each pair of ears. Those present- Dranaar, Colton, Ogo and Alfred, agreed to band together and set out to Cragmaw Castle alongside an elderly Orc from Millfields who agreed to be their guide.

#### **The Depths of Cragmaw Castle**

On the approach to Cragmaw Castle, the newly formed party encountered a man, bound and gagged, imprisoned by a band of orcs and goblins. After defeating the goblinoids and freeing the captive, the man revealed himself to be Jonny Sween, a druid captured on the road to Oxcross. Jonny agreed to join the party in their hunt for the Redbrands. Saving the party from a larger band of orcs headed by a bugbear, their elderly orc companion was brutally killed while acting as a distraction from the hiding heroes. After the war party passed, the Nutcrackers made their way to the ruins of Cragmaw castle, spotting an entrance into an underground complex and silently taking out its guards. Delving deeper into the ruins, the party found a cavernous pit and were telepathically communicated with by an unknown entity. Attempting to steal a hoard of treasure in the pit revealed a terrifying Nothic, which the party defeated after a hard-fought battle. It was defeating during this fight that the party's name was coined, after Colton skewered the testicles of the beast with an arrow, killing it. The remaining Redbrands surrendered, the brigands revealed to be the remnants of a company of Lyrian soldiers, who deserted their kingdom following the Battle of Millfields. The bandits were allowed to leave after they surrendered their ears. The party then recovered a cache of Lion Trading Company goods, bound for Oxcross but waylaid by the Redbrands.

#### **The Incident at Millfields**

Returning to Millfields to collect their reward, the Nutcrackers ran into a cloaked figure on the road who introduced himself as Shadowstepper. He was allowed to join the fledgling adventuring company, accompanying them to meet the Dwendalian Commander Cahir. During the reward negotiations, Shadowstepper suddenly produced a hidden crossbow, firing it at Cahir but missing, Alfred, realising his intent, proceeded to murder the Commander with Magic Missile. With the Dwendalian garrison bearing down on them, all of the party spare Jonny managed to leap to safety out of the tower's window, landing in the moat below and escaping into the surrounding woods. Jonny, however, was captured by the Dwendalians and convinced them to allow him to track down his former allies.

### Chapter II: Outlaws from the South

#### The Road to Oxcross

Now wanted men, the party fled north to the city of Oxcross, encountering thousands of refugees flooding the roads fleeing from the wartorn south. While crossing No Man's Land, the site of a great battle, the Nutcrackers encountered a monster hunter slaying a horde of Necrophages. The wanderer introduced himself as Akileer of Zykran, and agreed to lend his services to the party. Meanwhile, Jonny was assigned a squadron of Dwendalian Knights, and they rode to Oxcross at speed in pursuit of the Nutcrackers. Persuading them to remove their heavy armour in order to hide their allegiance, Jonny facilitated an ambush of the Dwendalians in Torrhen's Square after the rest of the party convinced Tormund O'Shea, Captain of the Old Quarter guards, to aid them.

#### Polite Society, Oxcross Style

The Nutcrackers explore the vast metropolis of Oxcross, learning of the heightening racial tensions between the human and elven populations within the city after the recent assassination attempt against King Andurs IV of Lyria, forcing him to relocate to Westcliffe. They first enquired after the Lion Trading Company goods, uncovered in Cragmaw Castle, by visiting the run-down headquarters in the Old Quarter. There they discovered the company to be a drug-running front for the Crownsplitters, a dwarven organised crime gang run by Alfred's de facto parents, Shiede and Schwans a.k.a Beauty and the Beast. Colton also visited The Golden Ribbon, a fletcher operated by the half-elf Enthir, where he enquired after a magic bow and offered a discount should he placate the Crownsplitters gang. The party also visited Ephney's Cabinet of Curiosities, a store selling magic weapons and items obtained from the adventures of its proprietor, the gnome Estelle Ephney.

#### Gangs of Oxcross

The Nutcrackers decided to visit The Castle, an luxurious mansion in the Stone Quarter and the headquarters of the Crownsplitters gang. There, Alfred reunited with his adoptive parents, where he secured payment for the drugs uncovered in Cragmaw and an agreement to stop the harassment of the Golden Ribbon. Seemingly discreetly, but in actuality tailed by Alfred, Shadowstepper visited the Wanton Harlot, the secret headquarters of the crime kingpin The Gentleman, from whom he received payment for completing his contract on Commander Cahir and the details of his next assignment, the pirate Tytos Blackwater of the Crimson Cabal. The party spent the night in the modest The Rook and The Raven tavern, where they met Myriadus O'Probbels, a charismatic halfling cartogrpaher, and his silent companion Tywin Bartooth. The Nutcrackers agreed to let the pair accompany them on their adventure, facilitating Myriadus' ongoing mapping of Tyria.

### Chapter III: High Seas, High Stakes

#### Dockside Diplomacy

Ogo led the Nutcrackers to the Oxcross docks in search of information regarding the whereabouts of Malekith Bowie, meeting an old drunk named Stig Salt-Plank in the Saltsea Tavern who claimed to be a member of his old crew. Stig told Ogo of Darktowe and the Crimson Cabal, and promised to show him the way in exchange for payment. In search of a crew, the party met an ostentatious merchant named Gellan Primewater, who agreed to lend them the services of one of his ships should they perform a small task for him- retrieve a box of valuables from a ghost ship adrift in the Lucidian Ocean, and return it to Gellan in Westcliffe. The party agreed, meeting the dwarven crew of the *Long Forgotten Gold* and its captain, Thrain Ironwrath.

#### A Hive of Scum and Villainy

The Nutcrackers,accompanied by their new crew as well as Stig Salt-Plank, Myriadus O'Probbels and Tywin Bartooth, charted a barge to navigate them over the Foramere Basin, through the swamps of Crookback Bog to the bustling port town of Stilben. Overcoming an ambush of Giant Toads along the way, the party took their time in Stilben to stock up on supplies, partake in ventures of ill-repute with their new friend Myriadus, and liase with the town's duplicitous wizard, Keledek the Unspoken.

#### Emperor of the Waves

After days at sea, the Nutcrackers aboard their new vessel finally located the ragged, weather-beaten remains of *Emperor of the Waves*, adrift without a crew. Ferried aboard by their dwarves, they quickly realised the vessel had come under attack from a gargantuan creature. Further investigation of the ship revealed the bottom lower decks to be choked with cobwebs, within which crawled thousands of spiders and numerous large, humanoid spider-like creatures. The Nutcrackers then found a lone survivor aboard the vessel, a druid cultist of the spider betrayer goddess Mephala, who promptly attacked them. After defeating him, they found a flooded bilge infested with undead, with Gellan's box of valuables submerged at the far end. When the undead were slain and the box retrieved, the ship was suddenly attacked by an ancient gargantuan octopus. With Dranaar strapping the heavy box to his back, the Nutcrackers barely escaped the ship before it was dragged beneath the waves by the beast.