Champions of Anyotkim

The three main members of the Champions of Anyotkim, along with two pets. From left: Ryō Kawatarō, Apollinaire, Green Weed, Dirae Kawatarō Poulderborn of Amusa, and Waif.

### Affiliation

Smithworks (formerly);Order of the Lotus;
Mint;
Prospero;
Prosperoan Adventurer's Guild;

The **Champions of Anyotkim** are a group of adventurers operating in the East Anyotkim and Twynon provinces of Anyotkim in the realm of Godai. They are best known for their actions in thwarting Fallstaff's Uprising, ending the War of Enenra, and for saving the entire region of Anyotkim by slaying the Titan Behemoth the Destroyer.

## Members

#### Current Members

* Dirae Kawatarō Poulderborn of Amusa - Changeling Warlock (Archfey) / Wizard (Divination)
* Ryō Kawatarō - Human Paladin (Oath of the Crown) / Sorcerer (Draconic Ancestry)
* Green Weed - Tiefling Barbarian (Bear Totem) / Paladin (Oath of the Blade)

#### Former Members

* Marianne Holloborn of Armsen - Human Fighter (Gunslinger) / Cleric (Forge Domain)
* Avelin - Human Monk (Way of Tranquility)
* Solinem - Tabaxi Rogue (?) / Druid (?)

## Founding

The Champions of Anyotkim were founded in the year 832 after joining the newly-reopened Prosperoan Adventurer's Guild led by Sir and Madame Hard. Their first missions were the standard adventuring fare: mapping out yet-uncharted portions of the Deepwoods, exploring the abandoned ruins of long-dead civilizations, investigating haunted ghost towns, and killing geese.

One of their fledgling adventures culminated in the awakening of the illithid Smith from a decades-long cryogenic slumber and his subsequent hiring out of the Champions to destroy his old ship, where the Champions befriended the drake MacGruff and rescued a colony of Grung. In return for their assistance, Smith built a prosthetic arm to replace the one Avelin had lost in the ghost town of Penshaw. Smith would go on to become an ally of the Champions, and would later found Smithworks and invent airships.

During this time the Champions discovered and explored the ruins of Ironriver, a dwarven settlement that had been long since abandoned. Exploring the derelict castle town, infested with undead frog-like ghouls and a reanimated beholder corpse that permanently scarred and nearly killed Ryō, the Champions encountered a hub of planar travel with doors leading to the Feywild, the Shadowfell, the Plane of Magic, and the Plane of Innovation. Accidentally passing through the door to the Feywild, the Champions met the fey Ysbali, who granted them an audience with the Lord of the Wild Hunt and helped them cross back to the Material Plane.

## Enenra's Arrival

In the autumn of 832, the Champions of Anyotkim witnessed the return of the demon Enenra at the hands of the Witches of the Wood, a coven of three Deepwoods witches who wished to destroy the city-states and return civilization to a primitive, tribal state.

Enenra's arrival was marked by chaos, shadow, and fear. Luckily, after a brief show of power, Enenra disappeared to gather his strength and amass his forces. In the aftermath of Enenra's arrival, the Champions of Anyotkim were brought before the Doge Servaas and tasked with assisting the Order of the Lotus and Oleander University in dealing with the threat Enenra posed to Anyotkim. To aid in this, Smith was granted a warehouse to begin design on an airship that would allow its users to circumvent the danger of the Deepwoods,

## The Witch Hunt

At the behest of Oleander University, the Champions of Anyotkim traveled to the city of Bogdon to track down artifacts the Witches of the Wood had stolen that had allowed them to summon Enenra. Stopping in the small town of Broken Shield for a night of imbibing, Dirae and Ryō met the dragon Merodach and Avelin discovered the truth behind the ambrosia the party had purchased the evening before.

Arriving in Bogdon, the Champions attempted to find room and board in the Order of the Lotus chapter there, but were turned away by Master Kenta when it was discovered Green was carrying illegal narcotics she'd purchased from a gnome in the Deepwoods. Lacking any other options, the Champions returned to Dirae's childhood home and were introduced to her parents, Sighild and Deshi Poulderborn of Amusa. It is revealed to the party that they have arrived on the heel of yet another raid on the city by gnolls, the frequency and seriousness of which have been increasing dramatically the past few months.

Investigating leads within Bogdon, the Champions discovered and befriended Chaunc, a scrawny gnoll mage that took issue with the raids on Bogdon - revealed to be a part of Enenra's campaign against the Anyotkim city-states, orchestrated by the Witches of the Wood in collaboration with the gnoll king. Chaunc led them to a gnoll warcamp just out of town, where Chaunc was declared chief after party intervention and short work was made of Hihi, the demon leading the gnoll raiding party. As part of the deal, Chaunc led the Champions to Witchwood, where the Witches of the Wood resided.

In Witchwood, the party discovered amongst other things a diary kept by Hilda, the Swan Witch and a catalog of magical artifacts the Witches seek to possess - among them, the Wand of Focus, the Star Stone, and Matterhorn.

## The Circle of Death

Following the leads provided by Hilda's catalog of magical artifacts, the Champions of Anyotkim searched the dilapidated and seemingly abandoned Dedov Manor in the outskirts of Bogdon for the Wand of Focus. Quickly the party discovered they were not alone in searching for the wand; upon entering the manor they are accosted by demons led by the Oni Uwan. In the subsequent fight Uwan flees as the demons under her are cut down and destroyed.

Deep in the bowels of the Manor dungeon they discovered the lich Qin Shi and the necromancer Lord Dedov, who was experimenting with the transference of his consciousness into younger bodies to delay the aging process. It was in Dedov Manor the Champions discovered Dee, the spirit of a young child that Lord Dedov had bound to a porcelain doll after her death- one of many such dolls containing the spirits of children that had perished in a fire some eighty years prior. Dedov beseeched the party to allow him to continue his work, stating that he needed to delay his death so that he could continue research that would allow the porcelain children to live the lives he felt they deserved.

After much deliberation, the Champions accepted his proposal and assisted Dedov in successfully transferring his consciousness to a new body of Dedov's own creation, stitched together from the corpses of various races. In return for their aid - and for not killing him - Dedov granted the party the Wand of Focus and allowed them to adopt Dee.

After a brief respite to Rubback Country, the Champions returned to Bogdon to find Dirae's parents along with her sisters Azure and Kajal kidnapped by demons, a taunting note left directing the party to the Bodgon chapter of the Order of the Lotus. The party arrived there to find the chapter decimated and destroyed. There party meets Picon, a demon working under Enenra that raised some of the Order samurai as corrupted Death Knights and mutilated and twisted Kenta into a demonic abomination that attacked the party. The Champions managed to fight off the undead samurai and rescued Dirae's family. In the ruins of the Lotus sanctuary they discover an invitation, addressed to the party, inviting them to Muukrakvod to meet with Tohpk, king of the gnolls. It is undoubtedly a trap.

Joining Chaunc's war caravan to Muukrakvod, the party arrived in the gnoll city. It was revealed that the gnoll king was working with two generals of Enenra's army, the demon giants Senko and Mizudori, who captured the party and placed them within the Circle of Murderdeth, a gladiatorial arena where they expected the party to fight and die for their amusement.

After fighting two successive waves of enemies and coming out relatively unscathed, Chaunc managed to allow the party access to a moot with all the gnoll war chiefs. During the moot it is established that many of the war chiefs don't like being lorded over by the demons and used as battle fodder; after a fight breaks out Tophk is assassinated by the feral war chief Scabbies and the title of king, after a vote by the war chiefs, passed to Kaaat the Shaman, who pledges to stop the raids on Bogdon should the party manage to defeat Senko and Mizudori and free Muukrakvod from their demonic overlords. After a long, nearly disastrous battle, the Champions emerged victorious, slaying the demon generals and freeing the gnolls from the Witches of the Wood