WEISSMACH LETTER #8
Village of Nav-Bodu, Principality of Trevodich, Kingdom of Nevskia
To His Lordship, the Viscount Wilfrick of Verbobonc,
The Order of Merit was able to enter the Kingdom of Nevskia without issue. As it has been quite some time since I've made an accounting of my traveling companions, so if I may,
I remain Eldsderth Greyhawk, a scribe formerly in your service, I continue travelling the lands of the Old "Ancien" Empires, regaling tales of the adventures of my companions and I, while correcting some of the erroneous information some of our books maintain. I also admit an unhealthy fascination with a dastardly elf, Talanth Blackash, who we seemed to just miss crossing paths as he's wrecked havoc from Verbobonc to The Weissmach.
Morya Silverbough is still a brilliantly ruthless warrior from Wyrmnal. I have not seen her happier than when we left Ras-Prythax into the Weissmach. Perhaps she was overburdened with civilization.
Murag Moutainhammer, our dwarf, if also far more mellow than the early weeks of travel, but I account that for our time together. Despite the loss of Rolgrim to the undedad General Balfas, and the loss of our cleric, Alwin, to the position of acting Freigraff of Amberstoll, I believe he finds us as trusted companions, dare I say, friends.
Celeste Sonnage de la Souer was a wandering Cleric of Akana the fell in with us at the barrows of General Balfas outside of Krigsgrave. Despite her previous affiliation with Blackash, I believe she is attempting to atone for those sins, although I do not believe they were all her fault. As a needed spiritual replacement for Alwin, I find her an improvement on bookish cleric, who made my martial skills look impressive in comparison.
Our newest companion was based out of dialectal necessity. Nevskia is the first land we've encountered where the vast majority don't speak at least the most basic of Trade Prythax. A few merchants, local scholars, and nobles in high self-esteem seem to have a grasp on our language, but most commoners speak the Base Purvmo tongue.
It is a quick, yet slurred language, that to the outsider sounds like a rapid succession of guttural noises. As none of us could pick up the least of the conversational tones, we quickly acquired a translator and guide.
Andrei Krasimir is a bastard son of the local lord of Sheagov, just educated enough to be a problem with the local constabulary, but wise enough to know how to avoid them. Quite talkative in multiple languages, we offered a retainer and rations for his services.
Stopping in the village of Nav-Bodu for a few days rest (and to dry the resilient mud cake on every surface of our being), Andrei would regale our tales to the other folk in the Traftir TalusCeli (Tavern on the Far Road). He must have been quite good, as the locals bought us drinks, and after an accounting, we were neither robbed nor poisoned.
On the evening of the third night, a trio of full-blooded Purvmo men. They were all cousins within the Hauffen family of farmers outside of the village and they plied us with drinks with begging us to help them with a local dispute.
In short, the Purvmo people are no less petty or ignoble than your lesser subject, My Lord. A generational dispute between this Hauffen family and the neighboring Naglys escalated into vandalism, mischief, and the alleged kidnapping of the family dog.
Using our positions of Freigraffs, we were able to enjoy Purvmo hospitality while keeping the peace Both patriarchs, Hopman Naglys and Tomac Hauffen, were quite congenial hosts, possibly due to our positions, but the families were absolutely delightful.
While most of the alleged offenses were nothing more than a bit above a friendly local rivalry, we did uncover some supernatural occurrences. It seemed that good man Tomac was digging along an agreed upon "buffer zone" between the farmers' fields, to build a new outbuilding, and in his haste may have opened a chamber housing a Wilas.
A Wilas is some kind of spirit of a woman trapped between here and the afterlife. The descriptions Andrei gave us afterwards pointed towards a vengeful type of fairie-kind, and I would equate those to be the nicer versions of the entity. I can confirm that they can be tricksters, as most of the missing items of both houses were discovered in her recently opened tomb.
But to the common man, encountering such a spirit would be instant death. Luckily, our enchanted weapons and the Blessings of Akana that Celeste wrought onto it, seemed to dispatch the entity... long enough for everyone to retrieve the items in the lair (and the remains of the Nailus, the missing dog). Both families and our Order of Merit worked feverishly to repair the damaged wall created by Tomac's digging, and Celeste performed her best prayers and invocations to secure the creature, if she was still there at all.
I must also admit that I finally saw my first living Giantkind. Epstenstein was a simple laborer in the village, but he was also a stone giant, a bald-headed man three times the size of the tallest person in town. He was a simple soul who used his immense strength to help the local farmers in return for just enough coin to keep his massive frame fed.
Compared to the other (deceased) giants in the evil Elemental Temple, I hope I encounter more of this man's folk.
Yours in Service,
Elsderth Greyhawk
Sage of the Order of Merit, Former Sellsword - Extraordinaire,
Freigraff of the Totenlinden of Amberstoll.
DM Notes: When I ran this campaign nearly 30 years ago, I was a high school student of meager means. With 2nd Edition in full swing, I had the PHB, DMG, Vol 1, 3, and 7 of the Monstrous Compendium, and a smattering of other items. Nostalgia and early onset dementia have me swearing up and done that I owned and ran certain adventures out of Dungeon Magazine... until I realized that particular issue came out two years after I graduated.
Dungeon #12 is NOT one of those modules. And I fondly remember the leprechaun and the feuding halflings from "The Huddle Farm," but I can't for the life of me remember when it happened or with what characters.
So I've done the one thing I wouldn't have dreamed of doing 30 years ago, I converted it. As our traveling correspondent and his friends are entering Kievan Rus with half-orcs, I've tweaked it to reflect the mud-strewn landscape. The Purvmone "Mud People" are half-orcs with some barbarian, and Ferasean genes mixed in, exactly the type of people you would expect in Medieval Rus.
And the friendly leprechaun is replace with a Wilas, a very vengeful female spirit of Slavic legend and lore. And a good reminder than most scenarios with a good framework can be converted to fit your campaign needs.
Andrei is a plot twist I demanded of myself due to my campaign logic. Nevskia is certainly a foreign land with odd languages, an orcish (Cyrillic) runic alphabet, and customs slightly deviated from Ras-Prythax. An educated outsider is a perfect pick-up for translator and guide. And perhaps he would have gone into the priesthood if he was the second legitimate son of the noble, or even if he been treated like anything other than a pariah by the family. So with Andrei deciding against the path of his innate ability, and looking at the treasure haul from this adventure, let's make him a dabbler in the arcane arts.
Treasure: Dagger +1 (Andrei), scroll of Magic Missle (Andrei) Scroll of Protection from Undead (Celeste), plus a thousand gold
Next: #30 The Dwarves of Warka
Village of Nav-Bodu, Principality of Trevodich, Kingdom of Nevskia
To His Lordship, the Viscount Wilfrick of Verbobonc,
The Order of Merit was able to enter the Kingdom of Nevskia without issue. As it has been quite some time since I've made an accounting of my traveling companions, so if I may,
I remain Eldsderth Greyhawk, a scribe formerly in your service, I continue travelling the lands of the Old "Ancien" Empires, regaling tales of the adventures of my companions and I, while correcting some of the erroneous information some of our books maintain. I also admit an unhealthy fascination with a dastardly elf, Talanth Blackash, who we seemed to just miss crossing paths as he's wrecked havoc from Verbobonc to The Weissmach.
Morya Silverbough is still a brilliantly ruthless warrior from Wyrmnal. I have not seen her happier than when we left Ras-Prythax into the Weissmach. Perhaps she was overburdened with civilization.
Murag Moutainhammer, our dwarf, if also far more mellow than the early weeks of travel, but I account that for our time together. Despite the loss of Rolgrim to the undedad General Balfas, and the loss of our cleric, Alwin, to the position of acting Freigraff of Amberstoll, I believe he finds us as trusted companions, dare I say, friends.
Celeste Sonnage de la Souer was a wandering Cleric of Akana the fell in with us at the barrows of General Balfas outside of Krigsgrave. Despite her previous affiliation with Blackash, I believe she is attempting to atone for those sins, although I do not believe they were all her fault. As a needed spiritual replacement for Alwin, I find her an improvement on bookish cleric, who made my martial skills look impressive in comparison.
Our newest companion was based out of dialectal necessity. Nevskia is the first land we've encountered where the vast majority don't speak at least the most basic of Trade Prythax. A few merchants, local scholars, and nobles in high self-esteem seem to have a grasp on our language, but most commoners speak the Base Purvmo tongue.
It is a quick, yet slurred language, that to the outsider sounds like a rapid succession of guttural noises. As none of us could pick up the least of the conversational tones, we quickly acquired a translator and guide.
Andrei Krasimir is a bastard son of the local lord of Sheagov, just educated enough to be a problem with the local constabulary, but wise enough to know how to avoid them. Quite talkative in multiple languages, we offered a retainer and rations for his services.
 |
| Andrei Krasimir |
On the evening of the third night, a trio of full-blooded Purvmo men. They were all cousins within the Hauffen family of farmers outside of the village and they plied us with drinks with begging us to help them with a local dispute.
In short, the Purvmo people are no less petty or ignoble than your lesser subject, My Lord. A generational dispute between this Hauffen family and the neighboring Naglys escalated into vandalism, mischief, and the alleged kidnapping of the family dog.
Using our positions of Freigraffs, we were able to enjoy Purvmo hospitality while keeping the peace Both patriarchs, Hopman Naglys and Tomac Hauffen, were quite congenial hosts, possibly due to our positions, but the families were absolutely delightful.
 |
| Primulen (l) and Tomac Hauffen, Our Hosts |
But to the common man, encountering such a spirit would be instant death. Luckily, our enchanted weapons and the Blessings of Akana that Celeste wrought onto it, seemed to dispatch the entity... long enough for everyone to retrieve the items in the lair (and the remains of the Nailus, the missing dog). Both families and our Order of Merit worked feverishly to repair the damaged wall created by Tomac's digging, and Celeste performed her best prayers and invocations to secure the creature, if she was still there at all.
I must also admit that I finally saw my first living Giantkind. Epstenstein was a simple laborer in the village, but he was also a stone giant, a bald-headed man three times the size of the tallest person in town. He was a simple soul who used his immense strength to help the local farmers in return for just enough coin to keep his massive frame fed.
Compared to the other (deceased) giants in the evil Elemental Temple, I hope I encounter more of this man's folk.
Yours in Service,
Elsderth Greyhawk
Sage of the Order of Merit, Former Sellsword - Extraordinaire,
Freigraff of the Totenlinden of Amberstoll.
DM Notes: When I ran this campaign nearly 30 years ago, I was a high school student of meager means. With 2nd Edition in full swing, I had the PHB, DMG, Vol 1, 3, and 7 of the Monstrous Compendium, and a smattering of other items. Nostalgia and early onset dementia have me swearing up and done that I owned and ran certain adventures out of Dungeon Magazine... until I realized that particular issue came out two years after I graduated.
Dungeon #12 is NOT one of those modules. And I fondly remember the leprechaun and the feuding halflings from "The Huddle Farm," but I can't for the life of me remember when it happened or with what characters.
So I've done the one thing I wouldn't have dreamed of doing 30 years ago, I converted it. As our traveling correspondent and his friends are entering Kievan Rus with half-orcs, I've tweaked it to reflect the mud-strewn landscape. The Purvmone "Mud People" are half-orcs with some barbarian, and Ferasean genes mixed in, exactly the type of people you would expect in Medieval Rus.
And the friendly leprechaun is replace with a Wilas, a very vengeful female spirit of Slavic legend and lore. And a good reminder than most scenarios with a good framework can be converted to fit your campaign needs.
Andrei is a plot twist I demanded of myself due to my campaign logic. Nevskia is certainly a foreign land with odd languages, an orcish (Cyrillic) runic alphabet, and customs slightly deviated from Ras-Prythax. An educated outsider is a perfect pick-up for translator and guide. And perhaps he would have gone into the priesthood if he was the second legitimate son of the noble, or even if he been treated like anything other than a pariah by the family. So with Andrei deciding against the path of his innate ability, and looking at the treasure haul from this adventure, let's make him a dabbler in the arcane arts.
Treasure: Dagger +1 (Andrei), scroll of Magic Missle (Andrei) Scroll of Protection from Undead (Celeste), plus a thousand gold
Next: #30 The Dwarves of Warka
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