Highlights:

UY 111

Pilinane – Adventurers explore the ruins of Morvir Pass, the only river route through the Kalimar mountains. The pass had been the site of bloody battles during the Black War as the dwarves held Vladimir’s Minions upriver. Many boats and debris are sunk in the river to impede passage to this day. The druid Dalamar (“Dalamar the Lost”) used stone shape to carve “Vlad sucks” into the wall of the ruins. Shortly thereafter, Dalamar disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again…

Siskumberlon – A band of adventurers recover the Holy Hand of Lo Moa from a shrine in the Hearth shire for the monk Le Men Zhing. The Hand was a revered totem from the founder of this obscure monastic clan. The monks of Lo Moa lived with the hobbits after fleeing the Death Lands decades earlier.

Othran – The same adventurers rescue the daughter of former Myracin City Governor Pymerin from goblin bandits. She’d been inadvertently kidnapped on her way to the Summer Festival in Ceravan, disguised as a merchant.

Kelerith – Adventurers recover the stolen sword Ki Aronnetti from a band of high trolls. The sword had been stolen by brigands while being delivered to the new elven lord Sarillien for his inauguration, and was then sold to the trolls. (More startling than the theft was the fact that ki trolls were believed to have been extinct for four thousand years prior to this escapade!) The adventurers were given the honorary title “Ki Durkani” (Troll Slayers) and awarded the Silverbranch medal from the new elf lord. This marked the only time non-elves had ever received this title, and the first time since –746 that non-elves had received the Silverbranch for Valorous Conduct for the Elven Peoples. The whole episode was captured in writing by Grevell, a scribe and potential magic-user who followed the group on their adventure and recorded their deeds in the Book of Knowledge.

Kelerith – The now-popular adventurers clear out the blasphemous Temple of Anshar, run by the outcast priest Senli-Remm, for the Priests of Enlil of Ceravan City. Kenya the gnome gains the nickname “The Wise One” when he accidentally tries to pass himself off as an ancient Babylonian goddess. The group fights a giant scorpion lairing in the temple.

UY 112

Mosmir – Kenya wins the “Amateur Fire Eating Contest” at Rocco’s Pub. Afterwards, an old, ill historian named Pethagor asks the group to visit the Tower of the Keepers to find an ancient tome. The Tower was a library, built centuries before the kingdom’s cities sprung up, and the knowledge it contained helped the Wizards build their legendary Fortress DuQuo college. The book is a weapon of power, and in order to keep the book out of the vampire lord’s hands, it must be destroyed. Ki Durkani Merith Strongbow dies during a valiant rescue of a comrade from the same trap that burns the book to cinders.

Bitnirum – The group recovers a shipment of furs, stolen by goblins, for Troy-El Otan, a mercenary guardsman. Martin finds a ring of protection vs. undead.

Zyrsonan – The PCs recover the diamond Thrimmin Tosk (“Life Stone”) from the haunted ruins of a shrine to Nin Hursag for the Priests of Enlil. Tales tell that a demon had been imprisoned in the shrine for 50 years by the High Priest Altoneth after a botched exorcism, but after that time the spirit was to be banished from this plane, and the ruins safe. They fight vegepygmies and meet Thullem Hallius, a rogue of dubious character but good nature who interprets dreams.

Zyrsonan – The group explores a halfling shrine to Sheela Peryroyl in the Shirelands. Martin is viciously attacked by a giant weasel, and Slag is mugged by troglodytes. The PCs meet the halfling druid Brandosine O’ the Briars, and accidentally ruin the shrine’s sacred pond while fighting mudmen. They conjure a huge oak tree using a Quaal’s feather token to appease the tiny druid’s ire.

Lotaral – The Ki Durkani assault the mansion of Tershang, a renegade mage, for the Ceravan Magic Users’ Guild, instigating and leading a peasant uprising in the process. Kenya the gnome is fried by lightning bolts from the wicked mage, and dies a smoldering death (he’s later resurrected by the Priests of Enlil). The ranger Lotho shoots the mage, who plummets from a tower and disappears.

Lotaral – The PCs recover the Wand of Roniss (a rod of resurrection) for the Priests of Enlil, finding it in an old dwarven bunker built during the Black War. They meet brave Pascual the brownie, a “mercenary” guide who works for marshmallows.

UY 113

Urlinane – The Ki Durkani enter the Ceravan City sewers to track and disrupt an assassin party led by a wererat, Irnin Trenesko, plotting political murders. Trenesko escapes deep into the sewers.

Trekernon – The party is attacked in Rocco’s Pub by assassins sent by Tershang. Rafton is found dead by poisoning, after being lured away by a sultry lass the night before, but resurrected thanks to the High Priest Koprisian and the Wand of Roniss.

Pilinane – The PCs visit the mansion of Master Lornin Il-Kemp, archaeologist and artifact collector. They brave the “possessed” museum in his basement to discover the legendary Artifact of Nintendo, the Archmage of Kyriss. (The artifact is currently disguised as a giant urn.) Lotho is crushed by a herd of stampeding dinosaurs during one of many interdimensional incidents.

Siskumberlon – Vanallan Ramias, an acquaintance of Troy-El Otan, hires the Ki Durkani to kill troll raiders from Sappan’s Forest, near Kirnin.

Othran – The PCs encounter Irnin Trenesko, wererat assassin, still in business. He’s slain by the party in back of a restaurant in the Upper City in Ceravan. The PCs meet Piyrzackyoloi, the water naga who dwells in the city’s fresh water well system.

Othran – PCs enter the crypt of Ben-Olab, hero of the Black War and demonologist, to protect his soul from vengeful demons after the protective magics were disturbed by grave robbers.

Kelerith – Sivil Ackbar, a dwarven miner, hires the PCs to enter the Vault of Minzerus the sorcerer, a known devil-worshipper, to cleanse the site from evil influence. They fight the three undead brides of Minzerus, and finally face the rotting Minzerus himself and avoid being sacrificed to the demon lord that Minzerus owes a soul to.

Sochuron – The PCs enter the lair of Shey-Okolro daeir ip Kyriss (Kalimarin for “Seven-legged demon of Kyriss”), and slay the beast. They meet Amohok Enderi, a faerie elf hermit who turns out to be a young gold dragon. Kenya the gnome battles a giant badger and loses embarrassingly. The magic-user Laurana discovers one of the spellbooks of Apothegm of Narda, a dweomermatic ‘genius’ with the natural ability to combine spell effects in erratic manners, and often of suspect usefulness.

Bitnirum – The fighters Slag, Kenya, Rafton, and Martin accept a dare from dwarf Captain Leharod to climb Mt Krasp in the Kalimars and slay a monstrous troll lairing in an old signal cave. The ‘troll’ turns out to be a fomorian giant.

Herlinire – Historian Montcarr of the Royal Palace Perayn hires the Troll Slayers to recover one of the lost Silver Crowns of the Four Kings from the abandoned Castle Osirgonus. They battle some bugbears, and retrieve the historic relic.

Lotaral – Master Il-Kemp again hires the PCs, this time to locate the final battle site of Sir Arindok the paladin and recover souvenirs. The PCs face a troll, troglodytes, cyclopskin, and a dracolisk; the Wise One is petrified (and used as a lawn ornament for several weeks). Rafton keeps Elsion’s Helm (a helm of brilliance), and Martin has the dagger “VeskprogKnof” (norker for “nose picker”) created.

UY 114

Urlinane – The apprentice to magic user Lucin Averl has disappeared while riding home to her farm outside the city. The PCs journey to the abandoned manor of Granlot the Wizard Lord, where there have been sightings of humanoids. They find a small troop of Vladimir’s bugbears and hobgoblins ransacking the manor for anything magical to put themselves in the favor of their dark lord, and using the apprentice Kielsa to check for enchantments. The PCs mistake a spectator for a beholder, and Laurana subsequently meets her demise in an unfortunate case of Lightning Bolting herself.

Pilinane – Trolls are stealing sheep from the family of Alonsos Trendon of Mylon. The Ki Durkani slay the troll marauders, with the priestess Oko cleverly disguised as a sheep. Back in Ceravan City, Rocco hires Gichim the half-orc as his assistant barkeep.

Kelerith – The group is transporting the Urn of Nintendo to the wizard known as The Traveller when the Urn is stolen and ends up in the hands of their old nemesis, Tershang. The PCs attack his fort, but the mage and the Urn disappear. Lotho is slain for the second time.

Mosmir – The group, with Kepral Nyastra of the Mages Guild, tracks Tershang into the foothills of the Kalimar Range. The party recovers the artifact of Nintendo from norker caves, but the wily Tershang eludes them once again.

Sochuron – The party arrives at the Traveller’s shack high in the Kalimar Mountains and meets Daltrathor the shedu, and the famous Ervinellinus Opak M’rimirei tu brenn Oshal, explorer, planewalker, and expert on interdimensional magics. The adventurers then go after Tershang, finally slaying the rogue mage. Slag is mauled by a gorbel, however.

Lotaral – Montcarr the Royal Historian again hires PCs to trek to Sappan’s Forest and recover a “map” to the remaining three Silver Crowns. The group encounters a wyvern, and a guardian naga named Tkasloitihep who watches over a ‘map stone’ in the burial mound of Lorlock Doyrnohkl the gnome. (The stone points the way to any of the lost Crowns, much like a lodestone.) The PCs recover the ‘key’ but lose fully half their party in battle after Slag offends the naga by stealing some of her treasure coins right in front of her face. The elf/dragon Amohok appears and stops the heated combat.

UY 115

Trekernon – An eccentric priest named Geymell led a cult that worshipped a massive serpent named Say-On, kidnapping rural peasants and making them into zombies with poisons. The PCs destroy the lair and the beast, scattering the followers.

Pilinane – Rafton is resurrected for the second time, after losing his life rescuing Slag from the naga months before. The PCs are hired by Sivner of the Ceravan City assassins’ guild to recover goods stolen by the thieves’ guild and prevent a guild war, once more sending the party in to the city sewers. Slag accidentally takes an emerald belonging to the Grandfather of Assassins.

Mosmir – Disnavrin of the Kapuniak mages’ guild hires the party to travel into the haunted Marshes of Trillion to recover a nobleman’s bizarre throne. It’s in a Suuhl lizard man village, and the group hires the cantankerous barge operator Cap’n Snappy, the only guide willing to take them deep into the Geshtah Wetlands. Lotho is killed AGAIN, this time by a froghemoth, and his magic sword is lost in the swamp. Rafton blows up half the Suuhl villagers with Elsion’s Helm. The throne radiates powerful magic, but no one knows why. (Several years later it’s learned that the chair is a spelljamming helm.)

Sochuron – The PCs are tricked by a thief into grave robbing from the Tomb of Erlak, where they face the legendary Cat of Nine Lives. (Every time the beast was slain, it regenerated more powerfully than it was before.) The deceitful thief dies during the escapade. Likeyl finds an elixir of life.

Sochuron – While traveling with his original band of fortune-seekers, the ranger Bircham sacrifices one of his fingers in exchange for the party's freedom after being caught pilfering a gem from a spooky crone reputed to be a witch.

Bitnirum – The PCs are hired by Pentowalyn Sayormaron, elder son of a former Ceravan lord and Hobgoblin War hero, to enter his father’s mausoleum and recover an ancestral family sword that Pentowalyn feels he should have inherited. When they arrive at the family tomb, they discover that the younger brother Reyaldo had been renting it out as a hideout to hobgoblins dealing in arms trade and smuggling. They defeat the humanoids and inform the Sayormaron family of the situation.

Zyrsonan – The group visits Ervin the Traveller, who’s trying to repair the malfunctioning Urn of Nintendo, to ascertain the reason for a lack of communication from the wizard. They wind up having to figure out the controls of the Urn to travel to the planet Vistrilon to rescue Ervin, who’s been captured by primitives during a trial run of the teleportation abilities of the artifact.

Lotaral – The PCs journey to the Keep of Pavison-Lar, the home of Nadrith (an elderly wizardess crone), to borrow books for the mages’ guild. The party fights gargoyles, zombie mobs, magic defenses, invisible stalkers, and a mimic before being trapped by the antisocial Nadrith. She eventually (reluctantly) gives them the tomes after she is convinced they’re not thieves.

UY 116

Pilinane – The party “rescues” a hostage from a merchant’s estate for the venerable paladin Geemar. (The hostage was actually killed accidentally by the party, though later resurrected by the Priests of Enlil.) Slag slays a chicken.

Othran – The Troll Slayers journey again to the Traveller’s shack to transport the Urn back to the guild in the capital city. Unfortunately, the artifact has been stolen by the vampire lord’s troops, who don’t realize what they’ve taken. The party achieves victory over one hundred of Vladimir’s troops (including several guerilla units of orogs, verbeeg, ogres, and worgs) by killing or routing the enemies and recovering the Urn. They also slay Yalerion, one of Lord Vahk Malyr’s captains. The monk Irstan finds a bag of tricks, and turns blue temporarily due to exposure to the Urn’s warping effect on magic.

UY 117

Trekernon – The party is tricked by Tershang’s half sister, Sah’ Kalilia, who locks them in the city water system and attempts to drown them in vengeance for her family. They escape with the help of the naga Piyrz. Sah’ Kalilia is never seen again.

UY 118

Pilinane – Slag is ill with the dreaded dwarven Furgolik flu, and the Ki Durkani explore and claim the ancient Keep of Dol Kathor the Wizard Lord in the Kyriss Region. After defeating the schizophrenic undead Lord Kathor, Reyn Swift and Rafton discover a magically preserved old tome (Dwimmir Chamok) written in the Ancient High Elven tongue 11,000+ years ago.

Siskumberlon through Sochurnon – The party’s separated. Slag spends the summer recovering from his illness and renovating his new keep. Rafton and Reyn quest through elven lands for sages who may be able to translate their book, visiting Lord Sarillien of the high elves, the Great Owl Skycatchie of the wood elves, and the Druids of Ki. But it’s the sprites of the Holy Lands who eventually give them a brief and vague description of the contents (it seems to be some sort of combat manual for ships, later discovered to be a book on spelljamming techniques). Martin meanders about the foothills of the Kalimars looking for ogres to slay. Likeyl spends the summer researching and studying in the Ceravan Mages Guild and going on maneuvers with the army. Irstan returns to his monastery. (It’s later discovered that Vladimir’s elite troops attacked and razed the monastic orders in the Kalimars, and Irstan and his brethren are presumed dead.)

Bitnirum – After witnessing the theft of a rare tropical bird, the party runs about in the labyrinthine Merchant’s Quarter of the capital searching for the parrot and its filchers. There are many other interested parties in the hunt who constantly get in each other’s way. Martin finally finds and buys the bird from Marouk, a hadrass chess master, after the entire party working together fails to beat Marouk in four straight hadrass games for ownership of the critter. Krea the fighter beats the crap out of a street cleaner she mistakes for a thief.

Herlinire – The intrepid adventurers take on a band of gnoll slave traders while going northward to meet Likeyl and visit Slag. They defeat the gnolls, trolls, and ogres and discover that they were minions of the vampire lord.

Zyrsonan – The PCs arrive at Slag’s keep and meet his younger brother, Smelt. The gang helps Slag start clearing out his territory. They come upon the lost Temple of Tharizdun, where legend tells that the evil god Tharizdun was imprisoned just before the Black War. The elven archer Reyn Swift snacks once too often in the gardens below the temple, and is blasted to ash by a deadly enchanted fruit. The group manages to chase out the mountain giant and his norker underlings that had taken up refuge in the old temple, and the evil place is later razed by clerics from human and dwarven settlements. [There’s much speculation regarding the vampire lord and Tharizdun; some sages theorize that they were one and the same, that the vampire tried to lure clerics to his cause under the guise of being a god. Some believe Vlad was a pawn of the dark god, and was (is?) preparing the world for the evil god’s coming. Another variation was that Tharizdun was a demon summoned by the vampire for his war efforts, perhaps a demon too powerful to be controlled, and thus imprisoned by the vampire himself. To this day, the purpose of the cult of Tharizdun remains a mystery.]

UY 119

Bitnirum – Undertaking a quest for the Ceravan Mages Guild, the group leaves to investigate the mysterious Fortress DuQuo. While staying in the river town of J’Villis, the PCs are “studied” by Master Vrixrig, a strange creature known as a dimensional warper. This study involves stealing the PCs gear and watching how they react when forced to rely on their wits instead of their weapons. Much impressed with the group, the Master returns their items, along with the gift of a planar manual. In Kalys Forest, the group encounters Kizzelbrakkod the copper dragon, and Valini “Windwhistler” Accolm the bard, who both inform them that the fortress no longer exists. However, after a battle with some griffins (in which Slag loses his prized mithril short sword) the party recruits some young asperii to help search for the remains of the college. The intelligent horses point out the fortress location, but before the group can investigate further they’re ambushed and their memories magically wiped clean by unknown assailants. The various party members spend several years wandering the countryside separately, engaged in trivial pursuits, unconscious of their past lives. Kepral Nyastra of the guild, and Martin’s romantic interest, isn’t found after the ambush.

UY 123

During the early part of the year, various members of the party regain their identities and memories, thanks to people who recognize them or have hunted them down.

Othron – The party is hired by a seemingly paranoid man in Ceravan City to protect him from mysterious assassins he feels are hunting him. Within ten minutes of accepting the job, half the party goes to Rocco’s Pub, and the ranger Martin and the thief Cricket are promptly ambushed in Slag’s Slumber Shack by invisible assailants who kidnap the man. He’s never seen again.

Bitnirum – The party does a favor for Rocco, traveling to the merchant town of Katharr on the Siliss to find out why his shipment of gnomish brew is late. They find that the entire town is besieged by orogs and trolls of the Storm Thunder tribe. The PCs infiltrate Katharr and liberate the townsfolk in isolated battles that span the entire village. The party’s comrade, Dallas McGovernor, is killed during a final battle, and can’t be resurrected. Royal troops later track and destroy the band of humanoids, but it’s never discovered why a known band of the vampire’s Minions were 350 miles from home.

Herlinire – The party is awarded the Medal of Heroism of the Royal Guard by High Queen Lyonessa Atryllen for their actions at Katharr, and personally recognized again by High King Pentor Atryllen.

UY 124

Trekernon – Ervinellinus the wizard invites the party to accompany him to the abandoned dwarven Citadel of Kur Shor-Kalak. He hopes to find a library there that was once the center of dwarven knowledge, and where it was said that Nintendo studied before designing the Urn. The party stays for a few days in the fortified town of Shansporro, situated in the Death Lands, before exploring the deserted caverns and tunnels of Kur Shor-Kalak for days. They find the library and defeat the wyvern lairing there, but nothing useful is found to help the archmage with his work.

Pilinane – Traveling through the Kalimar foothills, the party stumbles upon the abandoned dwarven trade outpost Gath-Lotokori after investigating an apparent attack on merchant wagons nearby. They kill the mountain giants inhabiting it, but then find that duergar have taken up residence, searching for something inside. Likeyl’s feline familiar is slain by a spear trap. Some PCs are captured, yet the party escapes and fights its way through the dark dwarves and uncovers a manual of hammer golems hidden in a shrine. This was turned over to a Salshath, a Kalimarin dwarf priestess of Berraman Truesilver, who provided information on the chronomancer Nintendo that may help the Traveller in his research.

Siskumberlon – The party travels to find Ti’ye Simosk, the hidden grey elf city in the eastern Doko’Lon Range. On the way they spy large armies of humanoid Minions practicing combat maneuvers in Byazyac’s Pass, and they further slip by a gang of norkers prowling the Pass. They manage to find the secret entrance to the city, and pass the guardians’ interview to enter the fantastic home of the faerie elves.

Othron – The party and Ervin study with the grey elves for several months. They learn much about astronomy and Nintendo’s past from the different libraries, universities, and groups within the elf lands. They learn also that an elf named Gilati’e Cothiri had supposedly been given the secrets of the heavens and the universe by a band of fairies in Cy’Pren Forest four generations ago, but that modern scholars reject her astronomy branch’s information as babble. The group determines to seek out these fairies and investigate the matter further, after returning to Ceravan City with the Traveller.

Zyrsonan – The party rides to the hobbit town of Woodshire in the Hearth to seek out an old traveling companion of Ervin's named Oszbon Gleamingeye, who may be able to identify the crystals that compose the "battery" of Nintendo's artifact. They find the town in the midst of a werewolf scare, slay the lycanthropes during the full moon, and discover that the werecreatures are a gypsy band in the woods nearby. They attack and destroy the Kul gypsies at their camp. They bring Oszbon to Ceravan.

Lotaral – The Urn of Nintendo is becoming dangerously unstable, causing warps in reality over the Prime Material Plane. Ervin feverishly works to discover a solution, while the PCs journey the Gi'Layia Glens of Cy'Pren Forest to seek out the fairies that the astronomer Cothiri spoke to centuries ago. They meet the unicorn Samshaa, and they party hearty with some fairy folk (Martin, Demmi, and Likeyl end up joining the naked dance celebrations, and after he shares his Dragon Spit whiskey with the leprechauns they consider Martin a lifelong friend). The diminutive beings direct them to a revered forest sage, who turns out to be an ancient, legendarily omniscient tortoise sage of mammoth proportions that lives in Sitti Askyrilin Lake, overseen by nixies of the Othipya tribe. The nixies explain that to confer with the sage Gugulgurgingol, the PCs must retrieve a conch shell that awakens the turtle when blown. It was stolen by a forest dragon called a linnorm, which the party slays.

UY 125

Urlinane – The paladin Aislinn searches for her warhorse, and finds an annis hag and her ogre and hill giant cronies who’d been terrorizing caravans north of Ceravan. The paladin gains her horse, but the annis escapes the party.

Trekernon – The party accompanies Ervin on a teleportation to one of the stars in the Kyral sky. They verify that the stars are composed of the crystals used to power the Urn. They encounter an astrosphinx, an undead psychotic beast that almost scrambles Likeyl's mind, and almost kills Martin and Demmi. They harvest crystal shards to be cut into new power cells for the artifact.

Herlinire – Ervin sends the party back to visit the all-knowing Gugulgurgingol to ask what finally became of the archmage chronomancer Nintendo. They encounter some of Vladimir's elite orog troops in the woods and kill them, but not before the orogs shatter the summoning conch shell they were making off with. A sinister apparition appears, a servant of Vahk Malyr the vampire lord, recognizes party members as Ki Durkani, and reveals that the vampire lord knows them by name is in not pleased with their adventures. All present agree that this is not a good thing. When they arrive at Sitti Askyrilin again, the Othipya nixies explain that humans wielding magic had attacked the great tortoise. They failed to kill the turtle, but it had submerged into slumber again on the lake bottom to recover, and the nixies estimate it will sleep for a few hundred years. The only way to speak to the turtle is magically; Martin does, but discovers that this is almost more than a mortal mind can manage, and he experiences visions and psychic shockwaves for months afterwards. However, the party learns a bit about spelljamming and about the vampire from the turtle. In the end, the group forgets to ask about Nintendo.

Lotaral – The group accompanies Ervin as he prepares to insert the last of the newly fashioned crystals into the artifact of Nintendo. Something goes awry, and the party awakens to find themselves stranded on an unknown planet. Exploring, they learn that every two years the city Andril rises from the sands of the Sea of Dust, a desert created by a religious cataclysm. They investigate, and indeed find the temple of Thoth, unfortunately becoming trapped inside when it sinks back into the earth. Demmi spends some time on the Elemental Plane of Air after stepping through a magic portal, and also dons a ring that curses her with saving throw penalties and can't be removed so far by any known means. The party is rescued when Ervin finds them deep beneath the sands.

UY 126

Trekernon – In an effort to learn more about spelljamming, the party searches for the Elder Sprites in Cy’Pren Forest, fairy creatures rumored to be many thousands of years old. They enter the half-elf village of Galsea in the Shyam Baynael territory. The town is infested with marauding trolls. The party happily wades into gory combat, eventually destroying the trolls and rescuing the town. They then rush to the neighboring village of Chalmaet, but the villagers are already dead and two monstrous giant trolls are ransacking the place…until they get slain and lit on fire by the Ki Durkani. Martin rescues and befriends Galfon the buffalo, who attaches himself to the ranger. The group also finds the troll bandits’ stash, which includes magic hide armor sewn from wyvern skin, a magic dwarven scale mail set from the Strongbone Clan of armorers killed off three hundred years before, and a magical black staff capped with a silver screaming monkey head.

Pilinane – The party continues their search for the Elder Sprites. They come upon the halfling village of Pingkelshire, abandoned and with signs of severe property damage. Continuing on to the nearby Irfshire, they find the hobbit townsfolk tree-bound in fear of a pair of bulette “land sharks” stalking the forest. The party lays a trap and kills the beasts. In gratitude, the hobbits direct the party west towards the Elder Sprite glens. The party next encounters grigs, who guide them to Pangkatharot (whose name means wise woodchuck in sprite). This egotistical speaking “groundhog” explains that to gain audience with the Elders the party must stand naked on their heads with flowers between their toes. The party correctly suspects that Pangkatharot is really a grig joke used to see how gullible the party is. Because of their good nature in playing along by bowing down and crawling through a berry field to talk to a fat burrowing mammal, the grigs eventually take the group to speak to the Elder Sprites. The Elder Sprites Pzipyip, Kyihuppo, and Mxstrizli meet with the PCs and explain that the elven races aren’t native to Kyral or this crystal sphere, but were refugees from a genocidal war waged on them by humanoids over 12,000 years ago. They meet also a treant who watches over the last remaining starfly plant, a spelljamming craft that crashed on the planet millennia ago.

Pilinane – The PCs return to Slag’s keep in the Death Lands, and find it inhabited by the Jagged Knife orc clan under Chieftain Kyolbartog the Serrated. After kicking most of the orcs’ butts, the party allows the orc chieftain and his top aides to leave the keep alive in exchange for a promise never to return. Slag begins hiring more mercenaries to defend his fort. That’s when the spirit of Dol Kathor, the former lord of the keep that had tried to achieve lichdom and that the party had thought they’d destroyed eight years before, appeared and asked the party to perform a ritual that would banish his trapped spirit to the afterlife. They do so, and the keep is cleansed.

Othron – Slag journeys to his dwarven people to try to rouse support for his keep and establish trade. The party stays at the keep, and visits with norker merchants, who tell them of cave bears living nearby. The group kills the bears for Slag, and meet a wereboar.

Sochuron – As the party travels southward out of the Death Lands back to the kingdom, they stay in the town of Neriendor in the Myracin Region. They meet Aryzon, the grey elf owner of an adventurers’ equipment shop who had adventurers steal potions from his shop, and they hear of a keep on Wyrmsmere Lake where several town fisherman have disappeared. Investigating, the PCs discover perytons living on a lake island, and the group of adventurers under the charm influence of a dark naga named Scylla… but not before they’re ambushed by the adventurers and Cricket, Bircham, Martin, and Hezzy are polymorphed into cute fuzzy bunnies.

UY 127

Siskumberlon – Likeyl takes the party hastily to investigate Fortress DuQuo for the mages’ guild. They become ethereal thanks to potions, reconnoiter the extra-planar fortress, and discover that a vast spinning web of phase spiders floats above the wizard college, guarding it. The group decides at the last moment not to meet with the spiders, and is suddenly almost swept away into the Deep Ethereal by a magic blast before they phase back into the Prime Material state. Upon returning to the city, they discover the truth of the whole expedition: Likeyl, Martin and Rafton had been framed weeks before for treason and murder, and imprisoned awaiting execution, all the work of doppelgangers (shapechanging secret agents used by Vladimir) posing as city authorities. The imposter party members who’d gone to the fortress in place of these three were also doppelgangers, and had tried to lead the real group to their doom, or strand them in the ether. Unfortunately, by the time this plot is uncovered, the shapechangers have slipped away. The group is really pissed.

Othron – The party travels to the estate of Lord Kant, who’s suffering from an “incurable” malady. High Priestess Anya diagnoses poison, and manages to easily cure the lord. The PCs then discover that several of the lord’s staff and his wife Hadilya have actually been replaced by doppelgangers. They save Lord Kant’s life and rescue Lady Hadilya, but after a midnight chase through the estate orchards, most of the doppelgangers manage to escape. The group is really pissed.

Kelerith – The party’s search for the doppelgangers leads them to the Velvet Glove (a legitimate bath house), where they think the shapechangers are hiding out. The party stakes out the bathhouse, and Slag goes in undercover. The party locates a doppelganger, but also discovers that the women working in the Velvet Glove are vampyres, who charm Slag. Meanwhile, the rest of the party fights ghouls and phase spiders in a warehouse adjoining the Velvet Glove. Slag is killed after rejoining the group (while charmed) to try to lure more of them into the clutches of the bloodsucking harlots; the phase spider poison is so toxic that the dwarf can’t be raised from the dead. The vampyres manage to flee.

Kelerith – On a tip from a man in Rocco’s named Kilyori ap Myro, the party seeks out Shae Riya S’sen. S’sen is known by the thieves’ guild as a master “information broker”, perhaps an oracle, and may be able to locate the vampyres. In exchange for information on the Urn of Nintendo, something called the Black Cochron, and Dol Kathor, she confides to the PCs that the vampyres have hidden in one of S’sen’s houses south of the city walls. In exchange for keeping quiet the fact she owns the building that was the lair of carnivorous prostitutes, she allows the PCs to attack the house and slay the bloodsuckers. Likeyl captures one to return to the guild with, and the creature’s interrogated and executed. The PCs suspect that S’sen is actually behind the entire vampyre operation.

Kelerith – The PCs teleport to Kyral’s moon Missos, where Ervin is confident the laboratory of Nintendo is hidden. They guard the small army of Koparin workers Ervin has hired to search the desert moon. They find instead an ancient elven shrine, built by the original spelljamming elven refugees of the Unhuman War who came to this sphere 12,000 years ago. The shrine is guarded by a baelnorn, Vi’Yalsikaa. He’s awaiting the Tyl’Iyat Kypth, the Thirteenth Generation of elves born on Kyral. The baelnorn mentally infused the story of the elves’ arrival millennia ago to the PCs and granted them access to elven lore lost since before even the elves can recall. This is a monumental discovery, shedding light on many sociological and historical questions regarding the elves’ existence on Kyral. The artifacts and information are later presented to Lord Sarillien by the Ki Durkani.

Mosmir – The PCs are invited to Kel Keep by Shae S’sen, who asks them to travel to the Boglands and hunt for a magical item known as the Black Cochran. The device was used by Vlad during the Black War to create undead at a prodigious rate. The party declines S’sen’s offer. While staying the night at Kel Keep, they’re attacked by shadows (who transform Martin’s two barbarian followers into shadows) and gargoyles. The group kills Saseyt, the vampyre leader and S’sen’s aide, and after battling their way through a crocodile-infested cavern they manage to destroy S’sen and her coffin after a pitched battle in an anti- magic shell.

Sochuron – The party is charged by the High King himself to use whatever means are necessary to recon, explore, and retake Fortress DuQuo from the vampire’s influence. The group travels ethereally to the college, and investigates the web of the phase spiders. After much plotting and planning and fretting, the group uses their Vladimir medallions to gain audience with the queen of the web, Ommiad, and discovers that she is charmed by a pair of enchanted spectacles to protect the fortress from interlopers. Not only does the group manage to break the enchantment, thus allowing the queen to take her web back off into the Deep Ethereal, but Likeyl (in the guise of a spider) locates a gaggle of doppelgangers, whom she gleefully blasts into cinders with a fireball. On top of these successes, the group finds the long-lost Kepral Nyastra of the mages’ guild, who’d been kidnapped by the spiders years before. Ommiad gives the party a silver whistle, which she says will summon the unknown being who controls the ether shield surrounding the fortress. The shield must be lowered before the college will become material again. The party turns the whistle over to the Mages’ Guild. The party also again meets Kilyori ap Myro, and discovers that he’s a werespider. He uses a magical ring to blast the majority of the party in to the Deep Ethereal before Likeyl manages to destroy him.

Bitnirum – While back in Ceravan considering their next step, the party witnesses strange cosmic disturbances that can only be caused by the Urn (the sun is rising and setting at random times). Soon after, a message from the Traveller’s camp on the moon Missos indicates that he’s missing, and the group takes a spelljammer to check out the situation. They find Nintendo’s lab, into which Ervin’s disappeared. While exploring the lab, they find a ‘computer’ globe, that transports them to Brell’s Forest back planetside. Soon after, the group stumbles onto the legendary Baba Yaga’s Hut, and after a brief exploration that leaves the wizard Likeyl petrified, speak to the infamous witch herself (who turns out to be the cause of the cosmic irregularities). Baba Yaga has imprisoned Ervin, but is interested in the TARDIS Urn, and agrees to release the party and archmage in exchange for the location of Gugulgurgingol. A while later, Baba Yaga has spoken to the tortoise sage, and offers to help the party; in exchange for possession of the Urn of Nintendo, she will use the silver whistle to summon and neutralize the guardian of the DuQuo shield, so that the group may investigate the fortress. The party agrees, and therefore solves two major problems at once: being rid of the Urn before it devours the universe, and crashing the shield to get at the magic college.

Bitnirum – Before the party heads back to the ancient wizards’ fort, they are invited to an elaborate ceremony at Palace Perayn, where the High King Pentor Atryllen knights each of them for their heroic valor in the past years on behalf of the kingdom. (Rafton was not present to receive his knightship, having gone back to his homeland in the Elfwoods to be with his tribe.) The rest of the party proceeded to meet Baba Yaga at the shield. They also met up with a curious druid, Kendall, who noticed the commotion of their spelljammer and their party, and came to investigate. Yaga’s whistle summoned the spirit of Jemil Gand, the former guildmaster of DuQuo. The sullen ghost was freed from service by the witch, and the shield collapsed. Destroying the obelisks which held the building ethereal, the group was finally able to phase the fort back onto the Prime, releasing it from Vlad’s nefarious trap. Entering the fortress, the group found it deserted, but dead bodies, seemingly recently killed, lay about, and the only inhabitant was a shade, Morath Zal, the last remaining Wizard of DuQuo. (The party also succumbed to the eerie side-effect of Skyrmm magic; they became paranoid of each other, almost to the point of violence, and had to leave the keep to regain their composure.) The building was a mazework of dimensionally folded rooms inside the regular keep walls, but eventually they discovered the fabled Grand Library of DuQuo, the goal of their quest! Unfortunately, it was guarded by a magedoom, an enchanted anti-magic beast that almost slew Likeyl until a last-minute save by Cricket Rounders and Hezzekiah’s excellent bowshot brought it down outside the fort. More unfortunately, the mages and soldiers that had accompanied them to the fort had been replaced by orogs illusioned to look like mages. The party fled back into the keep as orog archers rained arrows down on them from the treeline. Once inside, things got worse: as the party attempted their escape, the villainous Shae S’sen appeared, (obviously less dead than the group believed after their last meeting with the cerebral vampire). A fierce and chaotic battle left the party escaping ethereally out of the keep, into the woods. The party rested, and prepared a counter offensive on orders from the Mages’ Guild and Palace Perayn. Shock troops of faerie elves under the leadership of Gehyehedon of Ti’Ye Simosk appeared to assist in the battle. Returning to the fort, they found it suspiciously empty, but for a summoned hydra in the bailey. (After destroying most of the bailey and walls, the hydra was set upon by the copper dragon Kizzelbrakkod, and its heads eaten.) After setting off an explosive powder trap that killed several elves and badly injured some party members, the group discovered that the orogs, knowing perhaps that they couldn’t hold the fort, set fire to the Grand Library, destroying vast collections of magical knowledge that the PCs had been striving for so long to return to the land. With little left to lose, the party pursued the fleeing Minions into the forest, finding the sunken body of their stolen spelljamming barge several miles upriver. The orogs and their vampire leader must be near…

Bitnirum – Tracking the cerebral vampire and her orog host westward, the Kingdom party and their grey elf troops arrive in a long-abandoned mining town. After dealing with charmed wolves sent by the villain to delay them, they pursue the humanoids into the mines. A harried battle involving close quarters guerilla combat in the dangerous tunnels finds the party victorious, slaying the last of the Dark Lord's neo-orog elite forces. They also must overcome a pair of deadly cildabrins; huge arachnid beasts that trap and poison their victims. However, after sorting through the bodies, they find the trail of Shae S'sen leads out of the mines. Their quarry has fled, once more eluding them. (Damn vampires!)

Bitnirum – Further scrying of the two orogs who'd run northward from the main body of the vampire's horde revealed that they were now dead. The party tracks and locates the bodies, and Anya speaks with dead. The disciplined orogs answer her questions, revealing that the vampire is heading towards a place known as Myl Trannock, a former elven settlement. After being abandoned by the majority of elven settlers, humans moved in, combining their knowledge with the elves who remained to form a magic users guild that flourished around the year -120. Their leader was a human named Ahsimer, a noted wizard who had helped the Wizards of the Gathering select DuQuo as the locaton for their College in UY 2. As it turned out, Ahsimer was still hanging around… The group entered a stone circle, descending into the underground guild halls. They battled a grell, and eventually ran into the mad lich Ahsimer, who believed the party to be apprentices in the guild. The party played along with the delusion, and made their way though the dungeon looking for S'sen. Ahsimer later showed up, feebleminded the wizard Likeyl and Slew the ranger Bircham with a whispered word. The party makes it out (mostly) alive, but they find no signs of the vampire in the dungeon nor any signs that she left the dungeon of the lich. They teleport to Ceravan City to recover from their long and frustrating pursuit of their vampire foe.

Herlinire – The Ki Durkani and friends return to Fort DuQuo as the month draws to an end. There's an attack on the soldiers guarding the fort by an owlbear, so Martin and party track it to its lair, which happens to be the vacant home of a wizard. Investigating the home, they stumbled through a one-way portal to the first layer of Hell. They promptly allow the sentinel devil that spots them to go free, and before long the entire military might of the pit fiend lord who rules the plane is looking for them. They're thankfully rescued by Ervin the Traveller after hiding away in a magnificent mansion spell.Lotaral lbear, so Martin and party track it to its lair, which happens to be the vacant home of a wizard. Investigating the home, they stumbled through a one-way portal to the first layer of Hell. They promptly allow the sentinel devil that spots them to go free, and before long the entire military might of the pit fiend lord who rules the plane is looking for them. They're thankfully rescued by Ervin the Traveller after hiding away in a magnificent mansion spell.

Lotaral – The party receives a message from their acquaintance, Aryzon of Neriendor. The grey elf suspects something's amiss with the green dragon, Toxin, that resides in an old monastery nearby, and asks the party to spy on her and see what she's up to. The party sets off on skis through a harsh Kalimarin snowstorm for several days. After being attacked by a voadkyn sniper, they infiltrate the dragon's lair. Sort of. They're spotted by the dragon's servants, a troop of bugbears led by ogre magi. In an outdoor battle, the party kills or drives off the monsters, and inside Anya staves off attacks by shadowy undead. The dragon, however, has some tricks of her own, and she seems able to physically possess and manipulate the very building. The adventurers are careful to use Aryzon's potions of dragon control to converse with the immensely powerful beast. They learn too late that the cunning serpent has stolen red dragon eggs and planted them as bait inside the town of Neriendor itself. The party is shocked to hear that they themselves passed the servants delivering the eggs, but didn't realize it. Thus, they feel a good bit responsible for the tragedy about to befall the town. They race back to Neriendor, but the red dragon parents have already struck, and a third of the town is ablaze or in ashes (including Aryzon's shop). The town's protector, a silver dragon living in the mountains to the north, has driven the reds off, but many townspeople are dead. The party finds and heals the injured silver wyrm, and learns that it managed to kill one of the red dragons. They make it back to Neriendor in time to stop Toxin's follow-up attack, while the silver dragon returns the eggs to appease the remaining red wyrm. Using the last potion, they command Toxin to leave the town. She obeys, but they know they have no hope of stopping her once the potion wears off.