Up until now: Rurik and Zao-rin

 Up until now: "Rurik & Zao-rin"


That's what I sent the players who joined mid-campaign around session 12-13. It provided them with their own adventures, even though we didn't actually play it and linked with everything the core group had been encountering since the beginning.

I only shared this with the rest of the group after a couple sessions, so that they could introduce their PCs as they wished.


Early February, 1001AC: 

• Rurik, working mercenary and body guard duty for the Ore & Mineral Dwarven guild out of Freiburg, has been dispatched to Hockstein following reports of Goblin tribes moving East from the Menguls. There he was assigned to various protection details for the guild and got to know most of the local Dwarves, as well as some of the local militia men, who appreciated the dwarf's attitude. 
• Zao-rin has been in Hockstein for about a year now, helping part time the local Church of Vanya in it's effort to help the local poor and orphans, granting him free lodging in the Church's barracks. The local prior, a kind and old Hattian, frowned upon the monk not believing in Vanya, but never gave up trying to convert him. During his free time, he has been exploring the various southern mountain peaks of the Menguls, strengthening his body and his mind on the perils of the mountain ranges. During his travels, he earned quite a repution with the local Road Wardens, the ranger organization under the order of the Heldannic Order. 

Late February, 1001AC:
Rurik and his company, planning to check out the southern reaches of the Menguls for more goblin presence, hired Zao-rin as a guide, following the advice of the local Road Wardens, who were too busy with the late winter.
In the company was also:

• Marvin Gret, an Hattian Mage, competent but greedy and narcissist, who didn't like much the calm ways of Zao-rin. 
• Ivrena Hidesdottir, a young, strong, independent and busty Heldaner woman, probably cleric of the forbidden immortal Freya, who enjoyed the freedom of the wild though tended to walk around camp half naked more often than not, and made some...odd sounds..during the night in her bedroll. 

Early March, 1001AC:
During their travel, the group became chased by a large concentration of wild goblins coming from the west. For half a day, they tried to loose them, pushing further North into the Menguls. Finally, on the 10th of March, as they were preparing for a desperate fight against the crazed masses of goblins, a tremendous shock-wave hit the mountains all around them, sending rocks onto the tribe, almost crushing the party as well, leaving Ivrena close to death, her legs broken.
Weighting their options, Rurik found the entrance to a buried structure, cracked open by the recent Earthquake. The party decided to investigate and secure the place in order take care of Ivrena.

Mid March, 1001AC:
With the remaining goblins still patrolling outside, the party explored the buried ruins.

• All stones were crude slabs of white granite with veins of black within them. Rurik remained very perplexed throughout the exploration, the age of the work seeming impossible. 
• Marvin found what turned out to be some kind of very old spell-book, layers of black leathery pages littered with silvery ink in a strange language. The mage spent some days studying the pages and finally seemed to understand some of it. After that, the Mage was almost crazed by what he discovered, barely eating or talking to the others. 
• Zao-rin was the only one to go outside, mainly to find supplies. His skills in the wild mountains proving useful. He also took care of Ivrena, who was slowly recuperating. 

End of March, 1001AC:
As the group was about ready to finally leave, the Heldanner woman's leg apparently healed enough for her to walk again, Marvin simply refused, claiming that he had found something he could just not leave behind.

• The mage displayed what he explained to be a "Teleportation Circle", dating back thousands of years. 
• He used some kind of glyph symbol on a silvery pedestal in one of the rooms, and out of it came a shimmering portal. 
• As the portal opened, a massive explosion ripped one of the glyphs and the mage was sent crashing into the walls, his body torn apart. The entire structure collapsed around them, cutting them from Ivrena and the entrance, and realizing their fate, Zao-rin grabbed Rurik and both went into the shimmering portal, as tons of rock crashed behind them. 

Beginning of April, 1001AC:
Rurik and Zao-rin found themselves in a dark room, very small, apparently sealed in, the portal closed. They spent a couple days digging after Rurik felt a slight draft and finally, yesterday, reached the surface. They were on the side of a small mountain but still underground according to Rurik. The air itself seemed to have dim light permeating from it! In the distance, to the East, was some kind of massive swamp area.

Before they could take their proper bearing, flying creatures, with bodies of deformed women but arms like dark bat-like wings and cruel talons, armed with rudimentary bows and spears, attacked them in force. Zao-rin was soon caught inside a net, then hauled up in the air by the women while Rurik ran and kept running, west, across the mountain and down into some plains. For hours he ran, losing track of direction and time...
With some of the flying women still hot on his heels, he suddenly almost crashed into someone while running through a tall grassland...

As the pursuing flying creatures plunged onto them, he heard "By Kagyar!"