Village of Schattenwurf, Principality of Fürstentum
To His Lordship, the Viscount Wilfrick of Verbobonc,
An odd collection of adventurers, mounted militia, and other do-gooders traversed the back trails through the plains of Fürstentum, evading the capital of Hauptstadt and heading right for the the village Schattenwurf.
We were overconfident idiots.
Off into the distance, we could see numerous fires and we pressed our horses faster. Closer to the edge of the village, we encountered a group of Bugbears and Gnolls attempting to leave the area. We actively engaged, and after a great struggle, finally managed to kill them off.
That's when the Knights of Ras-Prythax arrived. The greatest knights in the world, enraptured to the ideals of the First and Second Great Ferasean Empires, had arrived in the knick of time to save the village. The life or death battle we had with the invaders? It was with the cowardly survivors fleeing for their lives.
Once the Knights interviewed us and deemed us "amateur heroes mucking up the operations," we were still allowed entry in the village. Despite significant damage to the community in both buildings and population, Schattenwurf still stood.
Eventually, we were granted an audience with a Captain Morgan, commander of the local forces. After pleasantries, I tried my hand again and announced our intention to acquire a certain uncouth elf. I believe I have never seen such derision and disgust from one man before.
Of course the elf was here. He and his three companions, the Stupid Ranger, the Drunken Warrior, and Thendara, the Busty Mage, all arrived in Schattenwurf with another person, a black haired disheveled beauty named Midnight. They had rescued her from imprisonment from Cragcross Castle, and were interested in talking with Schattenwurf's resident wizard, Greenwall.
Greenwall took considerable interest in Midnight and vowed to protect her. However, incoming elements of both Enstead Bandits, and another mysterious army, changed things..
Enstead was once a separate Elven kingdom, apart from, and about the third of the size of, Agenmoor. This Elven king always swore loyalty to the Emperor. However, even the utmost loyalty could not survive the betrayal of Agenmoor to the Barbarians, and even while the Barbarians sacked Feraso City, forces of man marched on Enstead in retaliation for a betrayal that never happened. Enstead was never defeated, but the Elven nobility was decimated enough that the kingdom has floundered into a series of Bandit Kingdoms.
Outside of a full-scale invasion into the land with mass casualties, there is little that could be done to eradicate the scum, so everyone exists.
While the main bandit kingdom units operating with the Principality are human, elves have been known to fill in the ranks.
Morgan admitted that he spotted the bugbears and Gnolls first, while in the company of the wizard Greenwall. While I assumed bugbears in the employ of Vihula Fire Priests, in reality, the vestments they wore brought great consternation to Greenwall.
They were fire priests of the base elemental cults that evil would worship fire, a type that Greenwall had only heard of such an evil cult in ancient tales of his youth. It had been such a massive nuisance to Emporer Rurik II that a collective effort of nobles and heroes supposedly defeated the temple and locked its inhabitants deep within its levels. This cult had previously held considerable sway in the mainland of Feraso for generations. He sadly was not surprised the cult had survived.
Regardless, the village must be defended. Greenwall ordered Captain Morgan to raise the alarms for a full army defense, and for runners sending the news in all directions until reinforcements could arrive.
Morgan had assigned Blackash and his cronies to defend the west wall, but just around the time Morgan discovered Greenwall and Midnight missing, he got reports of a party of individuals leaving Schattenwurf to the southeast at the high rate of speed. Blackash and the others deserted the town when it was needed most.
The following morning, with the town secured and already rebuilding, we were told that we would accompany the Duke of Osteverk and Knight of Feraso, Duke Hugethan Reikhoff, to Feraso City for a full report. Since I am a respected agent of yours, but some definition, I will represent the wishes of Verbobonc. I am horrified at the proposition to speaking to anyone in Feraso City, especially Krugraf Mykul.
We are to leave tomorrow, stop in Ostverk for more noble clothes to appear in the Krugraf's Court, and arrive in Feraso City post-haste.
And if we can avoid a certain elf, so much the better.
Your Humble Servant
Elsderth Greyhawk
Sellsword, de facto Ambassador of Verbobonc, and Sage of the Order of Merit.
To His Lordship, the Viscount Wilfrick of Verbobonc,
An odd collection of adventurers, mounted militia, and other do-gooders traversed the back trails through the plains of Fürstentum, evading the capital of Hauptstadt and heading right for the the village Schattenwurf.
We were overconfident idiots.
Off into the distance, we could see numerous fires and we pressed our horses faster. Closer to the edge of the village, we encountered a group of Bugbears and Gnolls attempting to leave the area. We actively engaged, and after a great struggle, finally managed to kill them off.
That's when the Knights of Ras-Prythax arrived. The greatest knights in the world, enraptured to the ideals of the First and Second Great Ferasean Empires, had arrived in the knick of time to save the village. The life or death battle we had with the invaders? It was with the cowardly survivors fleeing for their lives.
Once the Knights interviewed us and deemed us "amateur heroes mucking up the operations," we were still allowed entry in the village. Despite significant damage to the community in both buildings and population, Schattenwurf still stood.
Eventually, we were granted an audience with a Captain Morgan, commander of the local forces. After pleasantries, I tried my hand again and announced our intention to acquire a certain uncouth elf. I believe I have never seen such derision and disgust from one man before.
Of course the elf was here. He and his three companions, the Stupid Ranger, the Drunken Warrior, and Thendara, the Busty Mage, all arrived in Schattenwurf with another person, a black haired disheveled beauty named Midnight. They had rescued her from imprisonment from Cragcross Castle, and were interested in talking with Schattenwurf's resident wizard, Greenwall.
Greenwall took considerable interest in Midnight and vowed to protect her. However, incoming elements of both Enstead Bandits, and another mysterious army, changed things..
Enstead was once a separate Elven kingdom, apart from, and about the third of the size of, Agenmoor. This Elven king always swore loyalty to the Emperor. However, even the utmost loyalty could not survive the betrayal of Agenmoor to the Barbarians, and even while the Barbarians sacked Feraso City, forces of man marched on Enstead in retaliation for a betrayal that never happened. Enstead was never defeated, but the Elven nobility was decimated enough that the kingdom has floundered into a series of Bandit Kingdoms.
Outside of a full-scale invasion into the land with mass casualties, there is little that could be done to eradicate the scum, so everyone exists.
While the main bandit kingdom units operating with the Principality are human, elves have been known to fill in the ranks.
Morgan admitted that he spotted the bugbears and Gnolls first, while in the company of the wizard Greenwall. While I assumed bugbears in the employ of Vihula Fire Priests, in reality, the vestments they wore brought great consternation to Greenwall.
They were fire priests of the base elemental cults that evil would worship fire, a type that Greenwall had only heard of such an evil cult in ancient tales of his youth. It had been such a massive nuisance to Emporer Rurik II that a collective effort of nobles and heroes supposedly defeated the temple and locked its inhabitants deep within its levels. This cult had previously held considerable sway in the mainland of Feraso for generations. He sadly was not surprised the cult had survived.
Regardless, the village must be defended. Greenwall ordered Captain Morgan to raise the alarms for a full army defense, and for runners sending the news in all directions until reinforcements could arrive.
Morgan had assigned Blackash and his cronies to defend the west wall, but just around the time Morgan discovered Greenwall and Midnight missing, he got reports of a party of individuals leaving Schattenwurf to the southeast at the high rate of speed. Blackash and the others deserted the town when it was needed most.
The following morning, with the town secured and already rebuilding, we were told that we would accompany the Duke of Osteverk and Knight of Feraso, Duke Hugethan Reikhoff, to Feraso City for a full report. Since I am a respected agent of yours, but some definition, I will represent the wishes of Verbobonc. I am horrified at the proposition to speaking to anyone in Feraso City, especially Krugraf Mykul.
We are to leave tomorrow, stop in Ostverk for more noble clothes to appear in the Krugraf's Court, and arrive in Feraso City post-haste.
And if we can avoid a certain elf, so much the better.
Your Humble Servant
Elsderth Greyhawk
Sellsword, de facto Ambassador of Verbobonc, and Sage of the Order of Merit.
DM NOTES: Oh, FRE1: Shadowdale, how I loathe thee.
As I prepped my conversion from 1st Edition AD&D to 2nd Edition, I remember the conversion guides stacked at the endcap at Hobby Hangout, all the buzz in Dragon Magazine, and in my naivete, I thought the flagship module for this transition would be good to play even if I was moving from Greyhawk to Forgotten Realms.
I find the story-based direction of 2nd Edition to be as illogical as 20 pit vipers living in a locked treasure chest lost in a dungeon for eons. My players in high school didn't like the railroad as well, and with the armies of evil descending upon the village, once they got Midnight to the big wizard dude, they high-tailed it out of there.
And yes, it's technically Captain Morgan, but in reality, it's Lord Morgan.
NEXT: #18 - The Duchy of Ostverk
As I prepped my conversion from 1st Edition AD&D to 2nd Edition, I remember the conversion guides stacked at the endcap at Hobby Hangout, all the buzz in Dragon Magazine, and in my naivete, I thought the flagship module for this transition would be good to play even if I was moving from Greyhawk to Forgotten Realms.
I find the story-based direction of 2nd Edition to be as illogical as 20 pit vipers living in a locked treasure chest lost in a dungeon for eons. My players in high school didn't like the railroad as well, and with the armies of evil descending upon the village, once they got Midnight to the big wizard dude, they high-tailed it out of there.
And yes, it's technically Captain Morgan, but in reality, it's Lord Morgan.
NEXT: #18 - The Duchy of Ostverk
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