It was morning in Terynio, and the group of friends had just met up in the common room of The Copper Dragon Inn for breakfast. They were discussing the pros and cons of visiting the little carnival, when the door opened. A young boy of no more than eight years came into the room in a manner that could only be described as 'slinking.' The boy stopped several feet away from the group's table and began to wring his hat and stare - as if looking for words that just wouldn't come.

'Cyn noticed the boy, looked at Rick, and motioned towards the boy with her head.

"What is it, boy," asked Rick, as he turned towards the kid.

Aghast, the boy began to stutter. Then the words spilled forth in a waterfal-like torrent. "It's my friend!," cried the boy, "he's gooone! WeweresittingaroundthecampfireandBillytripledogdaredhim..."

"Waitwait... Wait!" Rick interjected, "slow down. Breathe. What's your name?"

"Johnny," replied the scared youth.

"Johnny, huh," asked Rick. "Tell me, Johnny, where are your parents?"

"At the carnival, sir!"

"At the carnival? Why aren't you there, having fun?"

"You misunderstand, sir, they work for the carnival."

"Is that right?"

"Yes, sir!"

"And you've lost your friend?"

"Yeees!" cried Johnny.

"What's you're friend's name?"

"Tommy," replied Johnny, pitifully.

"And how did you lose Tommy?"

"We dared him to spend the night away from camp," replied a tearful Johnny.

"And why did you do that," asked Rick.

"We were teasing him about being a chicken. Billy triple-dog dared him to camp out for the night. .."

"Triple-dog dared?!" exclaimed Alexander in mock amazement, "That's pretty serious!"

Johnny nodded emphatically. "Anyway," he continued, "he didn't come back yesterday morning. We went looking for him, but couldn't find him!"

"Maybe he's playing a joke back on you?" asked Rick.

"No!" cried Johnny, "He didn't come back yesterday, and we went looking for him! He's gone! Can you help me find him?"

Rick looked at the rest of the party. Alexander shrugged.

'Cyn piped up, "I'll bet his mom and dad are getting worried, too - I think we should help out."

"Okay," Rick told Johnny, "We'll help you find your friend. You can come along and show us where to look."

Johnny nodded emphatically. "I can't pay you much," he replied.

"No need," said Rick - you can just look after our horses and equipment while we're out.

"Thank you, thank you!" Johnny cried. When will you leave?"

"You misunderstand - 'we' includes you... You'll be going with us."

Johnny gulped hard and nodded. "I understand, sir. when will we be leavivng?"

"We'll leave around noon time - after we get our gear together.

"I will meet you here, then," said Johnny.

"That was just mean," 'Cyn said after Johnny went away.

"Maybe so," Rick replied, "but he needs to lear some responsibility. We'll find his friend, and he'll learn some things. Everybody wins."

Shortly after lunch, as the party was making final preparations, Johnny showed up. "Here I am, sirs and ma'am," he said, while trying to stand at attention.

Rick pointed to Bob. "Talk to him."

"You'll do most excellently," said Bob. "You can tend my horse."

"Yes sir!"

"You'll hold him if we go into battle, and keep him from running away."

"Yes sir!"

"You'll feed him and groom him every night."

"Yes sir!"

"I think you'll do a fine job, boy."

"Thank you sir!"

"One last thing, boy..."

"Yes sir?"

"Yeah, I know about you human gypsies and carnies. Stay the hell away from my gold!"

"Sir?"

"You heard me boy! My gold is in those packs. You protect it with your life, or you'll answer to me," exclaimed Bob, looking the Johnny right in the eye.

"Yes sir," cried Johnny.

"And one more thing - don't even think about touching it, not even to look"

"Sir?"

"Yes, it's all poisoned! We Gnomes have poison glands in our armpits, and I rub every bit of it there before I put it in my bags!" Bob rubbed a gold piece under his arm pit and tossed it into a saddle bag.

"Yes sir," whimpered Johnny, who now wondered just what he had gotten himself into.

The rest of the group shhok their heads at this spectacle, and giggled quielty to themselves. Poor Johnny was to aghast at his new situation to notice the eye rolls.

The brief understanding gathered from locals in Turino and the gypsy folk was that Temeria and the neighboring Coldara had a long and bloody history with each other, and such repeated conflict had led them to be somewhat insular and rather well protected borders.

On their way out of town, the party stopped to talk with Sheriff Johnson a bit. He warned them that the northern country of Temeria and its neighbor Coldara had a long and bloody history with each other - repeated conflicts had led them to be somewhat insular and rather well protected borders. As they continued on the Northeast road, Rick quickly discovered tracks that were consistent with those of a young child. They continued on, following the tracks until they found a small camp site. The fire had burnt out, and there were no tracks leading away.

"Well, here's where Bobby.." started Rick.

"Tommy," corrected Johnny.

"...Tommy camped out," continued Rick. "There's no tracks leading away, though - he didn't walk out."

"Where is he, then?" asked 'Cyn.

"Good question... There's these... Interesting marks on the ground - they look kind of like burns..." Rick followed the widely spaced marks back to the road, where they disappeared. "Looks to me like whatever made the marks got in a wagon of some sort, and headed further up the road."

Later that afternoon, the party came upon a large watch tower at the border. The tower was made of stone, and several stories tall. Most noticeable about the tower was the glowing red orb at the top. At the tower were several soldiers, and a merchant with what appeared to be several slaves. The party dismounted and walked up to the border guards who informed them that without the proper paperwork, they would not be considered to be Free People.

"I don't understand," said Rick.

"Anyone found within the bounds of Temeria without the proper paperwork is subject to seizure and indentureship at the will of any who would seek to have them."

"Slavery?" questioned Rick, aghast at the idea.

"Yes sir," replied the guard, "but for a small fee, you may register yourself here and obtain the appropriate paperwork before you enter."

"How do you manage to keep your slaves, if they are brought here unwillingly?"

"The collars maintain their master's control, through a command word chosen by the master."

"So, slavers might go out to neighboring countries, steal small children, and sell them as slaves?"

"It happens, sometimes," agreed the guard.

"And what would the crown do about this?"

"Nothing, it's perfectly legal. They shouldn't be out wandering the countryside, anyway."

The group stepped aside to discuss this turn of events. Rick was absolutley aghast at the idea of slavery, and 'Cyn wanted to get extra blank paperwork in case it would be needed later. Finally, a plan gelled - Rick would buy paperwork for everyone. Then, 'Cyn would steal blank paperwork from the merchant, while Rick created a distraction.

Rick went ahead and purchased the necessary paperwork and discussed with the border guard whether or not a wagon besides the merchant's had come through in the last day or so. Of course many had come through, and since no one knew what it looked like, there was not much further to discuss, except that any slave merchats were likely headed up the main road towards the capitol city, Alleria.

By the time Rick had finished with the paperwork, 'Cyn had managed to sneak into the merchant's coach, and was engrossed in trying to open the locks on a large strong box. The merchant had turned back towards his coach as well, so Rick began his diversion.

Casting an 'Enthrall' spell, Rick immediately began espousing the evils of slavery and describing how the slaves should rise up above their forced status, remove their collars, and be free. Rick was so successful in his efforts that everyone within earshot of his voice began to nod and agree with him - even the guards and slave merchant! The slaves, as one, reached up and removed their collars! The slave's heads were immediately blown off, as the collars detonated for having been removed wihout use of the proper command word!

As the bodies of about fifteen slaves fell to the ground, and the gory red mist blew across the scene, all bedlam broke loose! Rick was momentarily in shock caused by the results of his actions - this was not what he had intended! The guards immediately attacked, and one of the minor functionaries began running to the tower, yelling something to the effect of "sound the alarm!"

Little Johnny looked around and began retching.

Bob immediately skewered one of the nearby guards while Rick ran after the functionary. Rick cast a silence spell on a rock, and threw it at the functionary, momentarily quieting his yells. Rick quickly pursued the clerk into the tower and up the steps. Rick continued chase, and was brought up short when he entered the top floor of the tower, only to see the clerk trying to do something with a smaller red stone. The Large orb atop the tower began to flash brightly. Worried about what might happen as a result, Rick attacked the orb with both his sword, and a spiritual weapon. The clerk began to scream for him to stop, but Rick pressed his attack one more time. The orb cracked and began to thrum loudly. The clerk's face went ashen as he started runnign for the stairs. Rick realized that this may have been his second unwise choice of the day, and also bolted down the steps.

Outside, a small battle was being fought. All turned as they heard Rick bursting from the tower and screaming "Take cover!" As if on cue, the large orb exploded, and so did the collars on all the remaining slaves! The shock wave from the tower Nearly killed Rick, and finished off those guards and functionaries not yet dealt with by the party. 'Cyn was nearly killed as the coach she was robbing was thrown end over end, breaking open the strong box she had been so deftly working upon.

"What in the hells did you do!?" exclaimed 'Cyn, as she climbed from the wreckage.

"I broke their tower," replied Rick.

"You broke their slaves, too!" yelled 'Cyn."

"Well," posited Alexander, loudly, "So much for coming in quietly..."

By this time, little Johnny had recovered enough to help with the horses and keep up with the group. His mind, however, was permanently scarred with the vision of the exploding slaves. He would likely have nightmares for years. The party headed east along the main road, hustling to reach the fork before the reinforcements could come from Temeria City proper to investigate. As they headed up the northern road, they saw dark billowing smoke on the horizen over the next rise. As the road led them closer to its origin, the party traveled along a seemingly well traveled trade road, surrounded on either side by waist high plains grass.

"Hold up! called Rick.

"What's up?" asked Bob.

"Look up ahead," Rick replied, pointing. "Wait here."

Ahead, on either side of the road, there appeared to be flat sections of dead grass that very poorly hid some ambushers. The party held position while Rick slinked forward through the high grass. In short order, he came upon three orcs. The orcs were peering through the grass towards the party.

"Dey dere?" whispered the first orc.

"Soon," replied the second orc.

"I Don' see dem." replied the third orc.

"Don' worry," replied the first orc (obviously the smart one), "dey come soon."

Rick put his sword away and stealthily walked up behind the three orcs. He put his hands on the shoulders of the smarter orc and his neighbor and politely asked "Hey there, boys, whatcha doin'?"

All three orcs froze. They turned to rick, and two immediately soiled themselves upon seeing this fearsome Elvish warrios, suddenly in their midst. "We surrender! Don' keel us!" they implored.

"You surrender, huh, come with me."

"Where we go?"

"Over here, on the road." Rick waved for the party to approach.

As the party approached, the orc's eyes got big. "Not keel us!" they begged.

"What sre you doing here?" asked Rick.

"We capture you!"

"How's that working out for you?"

"You here," the smart one replied.

"He has a point," interjected Bob.

"So, boys, why'd you want to capture us?"

"Come meet leader!"

"All right, then," snickered 'Cyn, "Take us to your leader!"

As the group was led up the hill by their crack team of orc ambushers, they saw the head-high grass slowly give way to a small village overlooking the river to the East. Across the river were fields, most of which were on fire. Beyond the fields and fires, the group could see a small city. Their attention was quickly diverted, however, as their honor guard led them into a small orc village. As they approached the small group of huts, and slightly larger "houses," a powerfully built Orc appeared from the largest house. His skin was a dark red, with tracework fire-themed tattoos covering his body. He looked the party over and issued his orders, clear that he expected them to be followed.

"Bring me heart of the vicious Ogre Mage who is setting fire to our fields!" He commanded, "and I forgive your intrusion onto our lands!"

"Wow," muttered Alexander to whomever was listening, "big words. No wonder he's the chief!"

After some more discussions, the party looked to the orc leader who was obviously getting impatient. "Tell us about this Ogre Magi," said Rick."

"No use big words," spat Grignak, "Not magi... Mage!"

"Okay, the mage - tell us about him."

"What to say? He work for city. For hoomans. Dey burn our fields."

"How'd you get here?"

"Most escaped slaves."

The party noted that none of the nearly 200 strong orcs wore Collars, and a quick discussion led to a consensus that the orcs had found a way of throwing off their indentured status and were in the process of starting an uprising.

"How'd you get the collars off?"

"No matter. Keel Ogre!"

"But you're escaped slaves, right?"

"What matter that?"

"Well, maybe you can understand how they think this might be their land..."

"NOT their land," spat the ogre, "OUR land!

"This is awesome!" posited an obviously excited Rick.

"What do you mean?" asked Alexander.

"Do you realize the havoc these bozos can create here, in Temeria?"

"But," replied a somewhat disgusted Bob, "they're orcs!"

"look," replied Rick, "I realize orcs are brutish, stupid, and generally evil, but this whole realm - what with their slavery and obvious disdain for the spirit of freedom... Well, I think a bunch of orcs starting a revolution might help stir things up enough to at least cause their empire some problems."

'Cyn nodded along with this line of reasoning, although Bob and Alexander seemed doubtful.

"Okay," replied Rick, "We'll take care of your ogre problem for you!"

"You do dat, pinky, and you get reward."

The party headed down to the river, across the Orc-held bridge, and into the smoky winding road that led into the burning fields. The smoke made visiblity terrible, but a lucky breeze revealed the parties' foes as they moved down the road toward them. Three brutish trolls leading an equally brutish Ogre Mage trudged relentlessly toward the river. The ogre noticed the group and fired a volley of magic missiles into rick's chest. With a series of coughs, Rick loosed several Stirge's Bite arrows in the direction of their new foes, adding Troll and Ogre Mage blood to his growing collection of bodily fluids. In the ensuing fight, much damage was traded back and forth, but in the end, the party was victorious.

"We need his heart," called Alexander.

"Getting it," replied 'Cyn, who began using her insanely sharp knives to saw open the chest of the ogre mage.

"We need it quick - before he regenerates!"

At that, 'Cyn cut him wide open and practically dove into his chest cavity, emerging moments later - literally waist deep in its insides, severing and hauling out, soaked in its blood, and victoriously holding aloft its still beating heart.

Seeing this, poor johnny nearly fainted - this adventure was far worse than any campfire tale he'd ever been told. Exploding collars, Orcs, a battle against ogres and trolls, and now the woman who had seemed pretty nice had gone into a psycopathic spree, yanking out the hearts of her enemies - all while laughing and mocking their bodies and souls.

Little Johnny momentarily considered fainting, but just couldn't quite do it before seeing more creatures come out of the smoke. "Look!" he cried, pointing at the Allerian Guard marching down the road towards the party.

"What in hells did you do to our ogres and trolls?" asked the Sergeant, while his contingent calmly surrounded the group.

"Whaddaya mean ' you're ogre?" asked a smiling and bloody 'Cyn, as she popped back out of another chest cavity, "I think they're mine, now!

Somewhat startled, the sergeant looked at her and then pointed at the ogre's neck. "It was ours. Looks like it's pretty dead now, though," he said with a sigh.

"Well," countered Rick, "if they hadn't attacked us, maybe they'd still be alive..."

"Fair enough," replied the Sergeant, "But this is a real setback in our efforts to shut down the Orc rebellion."

"Orc rebellion?" asked Rick, innocently.

"Yeah," replied the Sergeant, "I'm surprised you didn't see any. They're mostly escaped slaves, but they keep burning the grain fields, and people are starting to get hungry. Tied in with the bad crops this year, there's gonna be a lot of hungry people this Winter."

"Is that right," asked Rick, now thinking twice about the wisdom of helping the orcs. Of course, if the people of Temeria got hungry enough, maybe riots would start to help overthrow the corrupt government. On the other hand, the very slaves he wished to help would be the first to go hungry, and the collars broke their ability to revolt.

The guards escorted the group back to their encampment. Along the way, the party discussed matters with the Sergeant. The conversations led the party to understand that no travelers had come to Alleria via the western road in the several weeks since the rebellion had started. This meant that it was unlikely that Tommy was to be found in the city of Alleria, but more likely back at the Orc village.

Once they arrived at the encampment, the Sergeant directed them to a latrine tent where they should "clean up" before meeting the Lieutenant in charge. The group did so, discussing this new turn of events with the Orcs, and then met with the Lieutenant.

"Your papers seem to be in order," stated the Lieutenant, "so what are you doig here, and why did you kill my heavies?"

The party explained again that they were just passing through, and had been attacked by the Trolls and Ogre, and were merely acting in self defense. They further explaind their search for Tommy, and that they had followed his trail this direction.

"Well," replied the Lieutenant, looking past the party and to the nodding Sergeant behind them, "it seems your story holds together, so I think I believe you. We have, however, a couple of problems."

"What's that>" asked Bob.

"Well, the matter of our heavies. See, if it was just normal orcs, and not these Ignans, we likely wouldn't have needed them. However, this group obvioulsy has some sort of help, as they're able to unlock the collars from slaves. That means there's some sort of wizardry going on up there. That, and while we would normally be willing to write off those expensive units in a battle, you have thrown a completely unfoseen wrench into the works.

"Yeah," replied Rick, "I can see your point."

"I can see where this is leading," posited Alex, as 'Cyn nodded in agreement.

"Yes, well..." replied the Lieutenant, "You are obviously tougher than our heavies, so you should be able to do their job in their place..."

"Wait a minute," exclaimed Bob, before being shushed by most of the rest of the party.

"..." continued the Lieutenant, "and as such, I willgrant you a full pardon for destroying Temerian Military property, plus whatever spoils you may find as recompense if you finish the job we were just starting."

"and if we don't?" cried Bob.

"I don't see that you have much choice," replied the Lieutenant, "bring me his head."

"What's the other thing?" asked Rick.

"That boy tou're looking for. Our intel tells us that these guys are setting up a ceremony of some sort. It will likely include a sacrifice. These things usually happen the night of the full moon, which is tonight."

"That's not good," agreed Rick, we'll have to get a move on.

The rest of the party hurried Bob out of the tent before he could cause any more trouble. It was nearing the end of the day at this point, so the guardsmen agreed to let the party bivouac with them. After some exchange of "war stories," and a good night's sleep the party was ready to perform their recon in force. Armed with the truth, and a pair of wands of fireball, the party marched steadfastly towards the orc town. As they approached the town, Rick again discovered the three orcs who had so adeptly captured them the previous day.

Rick again snuck up on the orc, again tapped him on the shoulder, which apparently caused him to again wet himself. "So, my little orcan friend ... What's the best way to get back to your village? We need to give this to Grignak," said Rick, pointing to the large heart that 'Cyn was so gleefully carrying.

"Grignak?"

"Yes," replied Rick, Bob, and 'Cyn, in near unison.

"Grignak make deal wit hoomans?"

"Oooh yeah," replied Rick.

"Ogre heart," explained 'Cyn, "Ogre mage heart - he said for us to bring it to him."

"... But why?"

"He was hungry," said Rick, "he ordered takeout..."

"He basically... uhh..." began Bob, "He had a problem with the ogres... And he asked us to help with the ogres.."

"Nono! Grignak trick you into fighting ogres!"

"Grignak made a deal," asserted 'Cyn.

"Deal... Yes, deal. Grignak make deal."

"Yes," agreed a smirking 'Cyn, "deal... that's the word you were looking for."

"Yes... Yes," agreed the badly confused orc, "Grignak make deal with pinkies...".

"...and now we must bring the heart back to him, as a part of the deal - to prove that we have taken care of the ogres for him," said 'Cyn.

"Yes, that's good of pinkies... Surely Grignak not pay you much treasure"

"It's got to be better than the entire combined treasure heap of those kobold warrens we cleaned out," posited Rick, much to the rest of the party's amusement.

'Cyn began laughing out loud at that particular comment, as Bob put on his best "spleen eating" face, strode right up to the Orc, jumped up, grabbed him by the neck, and whispered into his ear... The rest of the party heard nothing but the word "gold."

The orc quite literally wet himself and ran screaming up the hill in abject terror.

"What the hells" asked Rick, "Are you gay? Did you just proposition the poor bastard?" Rick pulled out his bow while the rest of the party burst out laughing. Tommy was so horrified at these events that he wet himself, too.

"Try not to kill him," giggled Alex, "we might need some information..."

Rick's longbow spat a sturge's bite arrow, piercing the orc's leg. The orc continued screaming, crawling and dragging himself away from the party.

As Rick retrieved his arrow from the orc's thighm Bob strode up, leaned down, and asked "Do you remember what I said to you just a few moments ago?"

The orc panicked so badly that he nearly swallowed his own tongue.

"If he starts choking," posited Rick, "it is you that will be doing the CPR on him..."

"Remeber," continued Bob, "how you wanted to be chief, someday?"

"NO! Me no want chief!"

"Yes. You do."

"NO! Me no chief! You chief! You chief!"

"NO!" You're the chief!"

"NO NO no nononono..." whimpered the orc.

"He's not an alpha," interjected 'Cyn.

"No, no," enjoined Alexander, "Even if he was, you have demonstrated that you are his alpha... He is not the chief, you are..."

"Crap," muttered Bob, "I have one word for you. Gold. I need want it. In fact, I need it..."

"Granery! Granery! It in granery! It in bags in granery! Don't hurt me, don't hurt!"

"Good boy" whispered Bob, "Good boy - you may now lick my boots."

The orc happiy began licking Bob's boots.

"Oh," continued Bob, "Go over there and lick the boy's boots clean, too - he stepped in some road apples abck there..."

"You know that poor boy is going to run screaming if that orc comes anywhere near him." said 'Cyn, "You know that, right?"

"Okay," sighed Bob, as he handed the orc a little piece of dried meat, "Good orc."

"I remember," began Rick, "the last time we met, I asked you about orcan potions. Do you guys have any? I'm especially interested in Tarzarhang's tasty potion of Efacous Healing, or Gumjack's potent potion of absolute healing... Or even Hagardag's oil of immaculate immersion, or Zagygug's potion of preventative curatives..."

"We have no.."

"Fafulfang's Fire Water?"

The orc's face lit up. "We can always have fire water!"

"Ironeye Thagfang's Fabulous Fog Dust?"

"We gots no potions. Alchemist dead."

"Did the city guards get him," asked 'Cyn

"No, he dead."

"Really, how?"

"He say no to chief. So he went to forge. He not come back."

"He's working at the forge, now?" asked Bob.

"No, he dead. Anyone go to forge not come back. Only chief. Grignak only one come back from forge. He only one. Because Grignk is chief. After you. You chief. Grignak other chief."

"You'll see," continued Bob, "that I am the chief."

"yes. Yes..."

"See, that's one of the reasons I need to convince Grignak..."

"Little pinkie chief... All hail little pikie chief!" The orc attmepted to bow and scrape while laying on the ground.

"Enough," interrupted Rick, "What's the best way for us to get back to your encampment? What's the best way to get there unnoticed?"

"Not the road?"

"Is there a stream that goes nearby, or something?"

"There's a river?"

"But that's under a cliff..."

"Yes! Cliff!"

"Screw it..."

"Wait.." Started 'Cyn."

"We'll just go back in. We'll walk right up their main road."

"Yes!" agreed 'Cyn.

"We'll just walk right in as the conquering warriors."

"Right!" agreed 'Cyn.

"Well, that's settled, now what should we do about our little friend, here? Should I slap a little curing on him and send him on his way?"

"Yes," agreed 'Cyn, he's been a helpful little tyke!"

Rick snickered at that comment as he cast a healing spell on the orc's leg. "You're all better."

"You witch doctor!"

"Yes, you might say that.."

"He's the good one," replied 'Cyn, as she drew a nasty looking knife, "I'm the not so good one..."

"Not good witch doctor, and good witch doctor. Me only want be treated by good witch doctor!"

"That's probably a good plan," agreed 'Cyn, walking over to the orc.

"She's good at removing bad things from you," laughed Bob."

"Hells," agreed Alexander, "She's good at removing everything from you..."

"I'm the one who removed the ogre's heart..."

"See?" asked Bob, "She can remove your heart from you..."

The orc almost fainted.

"No," continued 'Cyn, as she patted the orc on the back, "I'm not mad at you."

"Yet," finished Rick.

"So, um..." began 'Cyn, "Why bother sneaking when we don't have to?"

"Can we at least buff a little bit before we head up?" asked Bob.

"Yeah, sure," replied 'Cyn, "not a problem."

"Well," interjected Alex, "We can't buff up, yet, the rest of the orcs in the town might be more likely to notice us."

"That's perfectly okay," replied Rick, "I'll be perfectly happy to scare the ever-lovin' shit out of every orc in this town..." With that, Rick began casting many protection and aid spells.

As soon as the spells were cast, the group had their little orcan friend lead them up the hill. As they went forward, they came to a small footbridge that crossed a largish gully. On the other side were twelve large orcs; all of whom, while still green of skin, seemed to glow quite red. Behind these orcs stood another, eve, larger orc whose skin not only glowed, but his eyes glowed so brightly red as to be seen in the noontime sun. Behind him was another orc with a large horn.

"Hey..." thought Rick out loud, "I recognize that one. He wasn't all glowy the other day..."

"Stop!" called the big one as they approached the bridge. "No cross! This land claimed by Ignan Orcs!"

"Who?" called Rick.

"Da Ignan Orcs!" repeated the large one, "Stay dere!"

Bob turned to their orc "escort," and asked "What's going on with these bozos? Seriously, aren't all orcs ignorant?"

After some discussion, which included a lot of whimpering and snivelling from their escort, the party determined that this, indeed, was not normal befavior, but that Grignak and a recently caprtured "Droof" could "make" regular orcs into Ignans. They also determined that the orcs were on alert because Droof was to have come back over an hour ago, but had been captured by the Allerian soldiers.

"Hail,"Ignan orcs!' called Rick, "We come for Grignak!"

"We brought the heart of the Ogre Mage, as he asked!" agreed 'Cyn, as she held it up for display.

"Grignak need no heart!"

"Is Grignak no longer in power?" asked Bob.

"Grignak is power. You pinkies leave!"

"But we're here at his request!" called Bob, "are you saying that you're evil orc chief has betrayed us!?

"Pinkies no cross bridge!"

"Come with me," said Rick to the rest of the group. He began slowly walking away, as though forlorn and dejected, he used the party to hide some frantic spell casting. Various protection magics and blessing were quickly being applied to himself and his friends. As the group turned around, Rick quickly cast one more spell, silence - targeted on the helmet of the orc with the warning horn. With a last flair, Rick caused a magical weapon of force appeared behind the orcs.

'Cyn fired off a wand of webbing, sticking the eight of the orcs in place. Immediately thereafter, a fireball from one of Alex's wands struck in the middle of the orcs. The enuing conflagration caused Johnny and their escort orc shat themselves as charred- and flaming orc bits began rainnig from the sky, polluting the local land and water. Rick skewered one of the remaining orcs with a well-placed arrow, as Bob charged across the bridge to the battle and severed the leg of one of the remaining orcs. The remainng orc ran off, frantically trying to sound the alarm, all the time wondering why he could make no sounds. His confusion did not last for long, however, as the magical blade felled him as he ran past.

"Well," said Rick, "That went much easier than I thunk it would... Let's go find Grignak!"

"Wait," called 'Cyn, "let's get our escort orc, first!"

"Yes, Pinkie Chief," sighed the obviously scared orc.

"My witch doctors have strong magic," intoned Bob.

"Yes, little pinkie chief," whispered the orc.

Johnny leaned over towards the orc and tentatively whispered "and he's got poison glands!"

Rick grabbed the silenced helmet as the blood-soaked party charged towards the town. They ran up the road, about a quarter mile uphill, dragging Johnny and their orcan minion behind. Bob slowed and asked his orc minion the location of "the sacrifice." He pointed As the party approached the town. The orc pointed to Grignak's "palace." Thus knowing that Tommy was not in any of the hovels, Alex and 'Cyn began wasting the hovels with their wands of fireball.

Thirty large explosions and three-hundred dead orcs later, the party crested the hill. Rick ran to the "palace" as Alexander held back to extinguish the large fire pit outside. Rick and Bobd barged into the palace, inside were three groups of orcs, the larger of which had glowing skin. The next smallest group had glowing eyes. The smallest group had fire instead of eyes. Rick tossed the silenced helmet into their midst, with the hope that this would ruin any spellcasting abilities they might have.

The battle was met, and while Bob and Rick's combat expertise were high, they were both quickly surrounded by the enemy. Rick and Bob continued their vicious attacks while 'Cyn and Alex joined the fray. It seemed that all the orcs but one were not used to beating on child-sized creachers, so Bob remained fairly unscathed throughout. 'Cyn was giddy with joy as she repeatedly skewered theit enemies in the most inhumane places, the occasional blood-soaked codpiece flying through the air. Alex caused at least one orc to quite literally explode as a huge lightning bolt passed through it. Poor Johnny winced plenty often as he was slowly becoming battle-hardened. Rick was fortunate that the fire from the orcs' flaming swords was nullified by some of his protective spells.

The last of their foes dropped. Rick quickly grabbed up one of their foe's magic swords ast e party ran towards Grignak's "palace." Grignak, waiting for them, stepped out the door and met them in battle. "We brought your heart!" called Rick."

Grignak was wearing full plate. Unlike the previous fiery-eyed orcs, Grignak's whole face was on fire, his countenance was a very un-orc-like fiery red. "You have faced many challenges - pity they were all in vailn! You will kneel to our lord!"

"I take it that means you don't want the ogre mage heart anymore?" asked 'Cyn.

Rick pulled his bow and took several shots at Grignak's head, bouncing an arrow off his helm. "Remember me, buddy?!"

Grignak replied with an orcan insult about Rick's mother, as he swung his sword wildly at Bob, just missing his melon. The battle was on, as 'Cyn tumbled into a flanking position behind the large, flaming orc. Rick dropped his bow and pulled a sword as he ran into bettle behind the rest. It was quickly apparent that Grignak had many magical enhancements as he was handily able to beat up on the group, while avoiding their blows. Both Bob and Rick used powerful healing magic and potions during the battle, Bob barely surviving. As Grignak finally fell, his body immolated, lightly burning the party and leaving behind nothing but a scorched body.

Rick quickly sawed off Grignak's head to give evidense to the lieutenant later. The rest of the party quickly passed around a wand of healing magic. Soon, the party was fully healed and began the preparation to enter the forge.

"Johnny!" called Bob, "take care of the orc!"

"You're gonna leave our torch-bearer here with an orc?" asked an astonished 'Cyn

"Who's the chief," asked Bob.

"Little pinkie!" whimpered the orc.

The party walked into the palace, and found nothing out of the ordinary, just a scared orc.

"Where's the forge?!" yelled Bob.

The orc pointed to a door in the back wall. Rick opened the door and started down the hallway. As he walked forward, a glowing-hot spear shot from the ceiling hitting Rick in the shoulder. As Rick stepped off the pressure plate, he stepped onto another, catching another spear in the other shoulder. "Dammit!" he yelled, as Bob stepped around the corner, stepping onto another pressure plate and got a spear in the back. Both of them stopped as 'Cyn stuck her head around the corner. SHe took a close look and saw a mechanism in the ceiling. Climbing up, she carefully disarmed the trap system - it took up the whole hallway.

Soon, the group found a very hot spot in the wall. It took little effort to find a door hidden there. They opened the door to see a large room, wherein a large forge was being busily worked. Rick immediately spotted Tommy - he was chained to the wall, feet off the ground. He seemed to be quite emaciated, and was in the center of what appeared to be a large magic circle on the wall. He also appeared soon to be sacrifice of a large, fiery snake-like creature that was curled up around the forge.

"Ahhh... You're the ones who dispatched my little toys!"

"Yep!" squeaked Bob.

"We came for the kid," chirped Rick.

"The boy has to stay. When the little one dies tomorrow evening, all of those hideous little rings will go away."

"The control rings?" asked Rick.

"As much as you can control anything..."

"And then what?"

"And then the Ignan Orcs will rise."

"Can I offer myself in place of the child?" asked Bob.

"You are not a child of the realm."

"Neither is he - he's from the realm down the street."

"He was of this realm. He once wore a collar. That makes him perfect for this."

"Aaaahhh..." said the party in unison.

"We had to track him down. You will not be interfering.

"Yeah," explained Rick, "I don't want to interfere, but I promised his mom and dad that I'd bring him back... I'm keen on you're whole schtick about getting rid of all the collars, and even the bit about letting the ors rise. So... Can we come up with some way to do this without him dying?"

"I have spent way too much energy and time preparing this one to start over again."

"Why, is there some sort of special preparation? Do you baste him in Temerian seaoning or something?"

"Why yes, it took four days here, in the prime material plane, and another six hundred years in the plane of fire...

"Ooaaahhh, seee?" said 'Cyn.

"...and this needs to happen now if I'm going to have any luck, whatsoever, destroying my brother.."

"Your brother?" asked Rick.

"Yes, Lord Ignacious."

"Lord who?"

"Lord Ignacious."

"He didn't have anything to do with Sothzar Ro, did he? Did he play with any demons with that bozo?"

"Sothzar ro was a penny-ante, two-bit deity.."

"Oh, no, yeah, you're right.."

"... he did not have dealings with the plane of fire - not that I'm aware of, at least."

"It was nice talking with you," began Bob, "but I am now going to have to interfere..."

"At least you're polite..."

Rick took a quick three steps towards Johnny and broke a flask of holy water on the fiery writings that made up the magic circle surrounding the boy. The ensuing flash of steam did little more than clear out Rick's sinuses. The noble salamander called for help, and immediately two robed creatures and a huge fire elemental appeared in the room - he was so large that he stooped, and nearly filled the room. The giant elemental swatted Rick, scorching his backside.

"Focus on the salamander!" cried Rick, "When he goes down, the rest will too!"

'Cyn took a jumping roll to come up next to the salamander, and stabbed it in the back. Rick took a quick drink of a magic potion while Alex used his ring of elemental water control to create a deluge of rain from over the huge elemental's head, extinguishing its flames, and sending it back to the plane of fire in a huge blast of steam.

The salamander snatched Alex up in his tail and began crushing the breath out of him, while 'Cyn stabbed the salamander in its blind side, sending it back to the plane of fire. It gasped one last curse on its way, "Dare you send me back to the plane of fire without this! I will haunt your kin!"

"HaaaAaaAAaaaAaaa!" screamed Alex, as he fell to the floor in a fetal position.

"What a waste of a potion!" cried Rick. He walked over to Tommy "Hi, Tommy, Jason's outside waiting for you with the head orc!"

Bob used his sword to pick up a glowing-hot key from the forge. He dipped it in a water puddle and watched the steam boil off. "You're resistant to fire for a bit longer, here! Catch!" he said as he tossed the key to Rick.

Rick watched the key fly through the air, and calmly stepped aside as it fell past him and into another puddle, where it spat and boiled until all the water was gone. "Are you nuts? I'm not picking that thing up!" he said, as he walked to the forge and extracted a set of tongs. Rick picked up the key with the tongs and looked around - the key looked like it might fit in Tommy's manacles. He gingerly picked up the key and turned it in the lock. Immediately, the glowing runes extinguished, and Tommy fell free from the wall as the shackles extinguished.

The group headed outside, Johnny informed the crew that their orc had run away as soon as they had entered the "palce." Johnny then saw Tommy and ran to him. "I'm soosorry.. I shouldn'thavedaredyou..." and the boys had a joyous reunion.

Amongst the wreckage of the Orc Chieftan's residence, in a room-sized metal safe, they found a fair amount of loot and much evidence about the local goings on. This salamander was one of noble origins, Duke (Executor) Astroth, who had used his connections within his home plane of Elemental Fire to free the orcs. He had done this as a means of undermining the authority of the Firelord, Ignacious Ragnaros, the official national deity of Temeria. In short, the party had essentially stumbled into the infancy of a coup to seize control of the Elemental Plane of Fire, and the worship of the country of Temeria. It was also learned that it was the Firelord himself that bestowed the knowledge to create the Collars upon the leaders of the country, though the exact originating reason remained shrouded in mystery. Amongst these papers, they found a symbole which Alexander recognized from a tower in

As the group walked back down to the main road, Bob noticed that the legion was coming to meet them. As the children ahd no papers, Bob had them tend to the horses, away from the group. Rick told the to hang out over there, and if anything "bad" should happen, they should stay out of the way. Not that anything "bad" was expected to happen, after all... The lieutenant led the group, his nose curling at the stench of charred orc.

"There you are!" called 'Cyn, "We took care of your orc problem!"

"Yeah," said Rick to the Lieutenant, acknowledging his wrinkled nose, "it's pretty bad, but you kinda get uesed to it after a bit."

"What happened here," asked the Lieutenant.

"There was a mess of them here," replied Bob. "They were doing some sort of ritual thingy. We got rid of them."

"There was a salamander involved," agreed Rick, "Not the little four-legged things, but one of those nasty fire-snake lookin' things."

"He was trying to take over," continued 'Cyn. "We sent him back."

"And boy, was he pissed," agreed Bob.

"Yeah, he was kinda cranky," coroborated 'Cyn.

The lieutenant pulled out a small notepad and began hastily taking notes. "We'll have to let the wizard's guild know about this.."

"What about their leader?"

"Grignak?" asked Rick, pointing to the palace, "he's right there."

"You want his head?" offered 'Cyn, "I can go get it for ya!"

"No.. ummm..." began the obviously disgusted Lietenant, "No. Thank you.. We're good on the head, thanks... Were any of them left alive?"

"Did you want them to be?" asked Rick.

"Well, they were state property... Livestock, if you will"

"You didn't tell us that," objected 'Cyn.

"They were violent stock," agreed Rick.

"Of course they were violent stock," agreed the Lieutenant.

"They were really not good stock, anymore," explained 'Cyn, "they were kinda turned all glowy and stuff..."

"I see..."

"There, was one," interjected Rick, helpfully, "but he ran away..."

"We'll need to send riders, then, to bring the news and look for that one..." replied the Lieutenant.

"We're headed back that way, we can be your riders," volunteered Bob.

Alleria: Stabbings, Scryings, and Slayers:
Returning to Alleria garners the party some respect, street cred, and a general well-likedness among the guards and merchants. Alleria is essentially the northern trade town for Temeria, and lack of traffic west, the burning of vast amounts of crops, and an essentially impossible uprising resulting from Collared slaves mysteriously becoming Un-Collared was leading to a troubling future. While in Alleria, Cyn managed to not only discover that 1) she loved killing things and being covered in blood, 2) that the Assasain's Guild is not actually altogether difficult to find when one does fantastically on a gather information check, and 3) that all she has to do is kill someone to become an assasain herself, and learn all new and marvelous ways to make living creatures less living and more lootable. While Cyn was continuing her decent into evilness, by killing a perfectly harmless store owner, who owed protection monies he could not pay and was therefore being used as a warning to his neighbors, the party discovered several old wanted posters for a drow named Balshain De'lamor. Upon further investigation it turned out that during the last war against Coldara, some 10 years previous, De'lamor had been the leader of a mercenary company working for Temeria fighting the dreaded Coldarans. Despite several key victories, it was determined that De'lamor's brutality was more of a detriment than his victories were a boon, and he was first commanded to stop, and then declared outlaw after the heads of the area commander had been shipped back to the capital. Rumormill, gossip, and innuendo led the party to believe that De'lamor had been sighted in the next town to the east, near the northeastern border to the Barrier Mountains (dwarf country). It is noted that during their time in Alleria, Bob the Gnome decided to spend his hard-earned coin on acquring a personal slave, and by horrible negotiating skills ending up with Edgar, a half-wit whose only real skill involved apple picking. In an effort to "blend in" Alexander the wizard headed to the slave districts and by stupid luck ended up with a pair of half-elven twins, Mindy and Miranda, whose previous owner had been a high ranking Lady, giving them both skill and knowledge of household management, high Temerian fashion, and exceptional make-up skills. A significant amount was learned about the Collars at this time, of note, that they had a profound effect on the emotional centers of the brain, flattening the emotional curve to nearly nothing, leaving only the feeling of bliss (to the point of orgasmic) and agony (to the point of wishing to die) at the whim of the owner of the slave, lasting until the owner willed differently. The owner also retained the ability to both detonate the Collar, and locate (as the spell Locate Object) it at will. Bob, being Chaotic Neutral left Edgar at a null state. Alex, being chaotic evil, set the twins at middling bliss, reinforcing any action that was either evil or in service to himself with a spike over the top. The disguise of owning slaves obtained, the party ran headlong into certain danger and possible dismemberment in the direction of Tirisfal.

Hill Giants: Surprisingly squishy at 200 feet.
This seemingly random encounter on the road to Tirisfal is of note as it is one of the first times that Alexander the Wizard ever polymorphed into a dragon, having spent all his other spells, and using this new flying form, carried a giant to a height of 200 feet, and dropped it, the resulting splat creating great glee for him.

The Grassy Gnoll:
The party stopped for the night in Tirisfal proper, coming into to town near dusk; the townsfolk were wary of the armored and armed newcomers. This concern was placed on hold when a frantic young man flew into the tavern, claiming that a gnoll had been spotted near his farm, and that help was direly needed. In proper heroic fashion, the party joined the mob to investigate, finding trace evidence of an intruder. Rick had a "discussion" with a nearby squirrel, confirming that a "two legger dog" had been in the area, and that it had "smelled like that place up north". While investigating the subsequent gnoll tracks north of a nearby farm, a small skirmish squad of gnolls, who despite being highly trained, were having a rather severe disagreement (loudly) among the upper staff. The shamans wanted to wait for a more opportune evening, while the military leader wanted to just do a quick strike, conflagrating the main structures of the town, forcing the townsfolk away. This yip-barking arguement tipped the party off, allowing Cyn and Rick to sneak into a critical position. Unfortunately, Bob also felt like he needed to sneak in as well (short legs make it difficult to close distance easily), however full plate makes for a horrible move silently check. A well placed wall of fire held the archers back from causing severe pincushion damage from the party (bob specifically). The fight went relatively well, due to liberal use of tanglefields, fire balls, amazing arrow shots, and gnome-powered cuisinarts. Many dead gnolls later, the aforementioned shaman took to the sky via wind walk, seeking to flee the battle and regroup at the main base. Polymorphed dragon Alex chased her down and dropped her from the sky, losing her corpse in the mix of trees and scrubbrush.

Can we borrow a cup of Drow?:
A torrential rainstorm was creating a horrible enviroment to track gnolls, but thanks to some helpful woodland creatures and Rick's unerring ability to hunt, the party soon found their way out of the heavy forest to the foot of the Barrier Mountains, to a sheer cliff face with a well hidden foot path heading up into a cave. The party had left Edgar at town with the boys (Jason and Tommy) where they were unlikely to get into altogether much trouble, but brought the M's with them, as their skills at cooking and basic camp management skills were in high demand (and Alex rather selfishly liked looking at them a lot). Parking the M's with the horses, the party sneakily made their way up the trail, Cyn's newfound assasain skills earning her a first silent kill, with Rick's use of the Silence spell on a well placed rock preventing any noise from traveling farther into the cave system. Using a fair amount of stealth for a party so prone to overt acts of large-scale mayhem, they made short work of the upper floors, proceeding nearly undetected to the lower level. In the twisty caverns that served as the lower sanctum, the party was beset upon by a fierce fire giant. Titanic forces were thrown back and forth, Alex's main method of pain infliction rendered useless due to its extreme resistance to fire, Rick's method ruined by a relatively tough set of armor worn by the giant and the short distance making use of a bow foolhardy, Bob's method was culled both by the armor, and his inability to reach higher than the giant's shin, however there was a shining example of heroism made in the battle. A wayward druid that had managed to find the party in Tirisfal and invited himself to tag along utilized his one meager spell to summon a tiny pit viper. This diminuative beast made a startlingly effective leaping attack against the Giant, its needle sharp teeth striking the giant beneath the loincloth in a place that is very tender to begin with. Even more impressive, the snake's venom was so potent that even the Giant's constitution failed to overcome it, the end result being that due to a natural 20 to hit, a 1 on a fortitude save, and maximum die result on poison damage, a half hit-die (1 hp) viper inflicted nearly 45 points of damage to a creature that would normally have treated it like a gnat bite. The Giant did not get a chance to recover from the shame of being brought low by a baby serpent, as his life was ended shortly thereafter by some quick sword work by Bob and Rick. A badly bruised and beaten Jaden was found in the subsequent room, his sorcerous powers evident, but his memory of how he had arrived in a cage in a pit full of combat ready gnolls led by a fire giant lieutenant overseen by an outlaw Drow strike commander (and why he was naked) eluded him. The party kindly decided to turn a blind eye to the abuse that Jaden had suffered, and decided to let the amnesia work in his favor, so he wouldn't recall the horrors that may have occurred to him. Finally, the commander was all that remained, and after a strenuous battle, and impressive magicks being flung on both sides, the Drow commander was captured. Wait, captured? Not killed horribly? Really? All right, apparently at the last moment, Rick decided that he had pressing questions that an Ask Dead would not suffice for. Belshain was bound, gagged, and stripped of anything shiny and while searching his room, the party happened across a matching set of 8 ornate mithril and platinum filligreed cups (similar to champagne flutes) bearing the Temerian Royal Insignia, 100,000 Temerian Royal Insignia stamped gold coins, and a leather bound tome with a complex ciphered script inside that defied translation. Another small book proved to be a journal, providing insight into the coinage, apparently stolen from the Royal Vault in Temeria City, but no mention of the Cups or their purpose (they appeared to be minorly magical).

Still Waiting:
Meanwhile, outside in the pouring rain, and unbeknownst to the party (to this day except for Alex currently), while guarding the horses, Mindy and Miranda were assaulted by a pair of gnoll scouts, who mistook the pair for an easy mark. Being collared, they were unable to feel fear, and being under Alex's control, they felt nothing but moderate bliss as they burned a charge of the wand Alex had left with them, and reduced the gnolls to cinders in a fiery explosion. The girls then looted what they could, moving closer to the entrance in an effort to seek a somewhat safer position to defend and greeted the party as they came out with their prize.

The Tax Man Cometh:
The Cups quickly found their way into a Bag of Holding, while the Coinage (as the journal described it, was the backpay Belshain was due for his work during the war, but was essentially unable to spend it until he could have it melted down) was evenly distributed into 25,000 gold worth saddlebags on 4 of the horses. Upon returning to Tirisfal, with Belshain thrown over a spare horse, much rejoicing was had, and the party was invited to join in a celebration in a nearby barn. Much carousing, dancing, and fun was had by all, however of note, one of the local young men, on a dare, attempted to dance with Cyn, who graciously did not stab him in the heart for suggesting such a dalliance. The watch over Belshain proved effective, as he did not escape into the night as Rick had feared, and was there in the morning, though less than chipper. A tax collector, with nearly 40 armed guardsmen had arrived also that morning, and upon seeing Belshain, congratulated the party profusely for their successful capture of the traitor, and was ordered to take a report to Temeria City detailing their actions, and the tax collector's current custody of the fiend. The party watched with some concern as Belshain was promptly Collared, and watched the fight fade from his eyes as he was bound to the Tax Collector. Realizing that Belshain, under control of the state, might divulge all of the items that he had stolen from them, and that were now in the possession of the party, they decided that actually delivering the Tax Collector's report to Temeria City would actually work in their favor, since the Collector was heading to Alleria first, and then traveling by boat down to Temeria City, effectively putting him almost a week behind the party, if they took the direct path to the city.

The Road More Traveled:
To get to Temeria City, the party had the option of traveling overland in a more or less straight path, or taking the road south to Legion Front, a heavily militaristic fortification that served as the principle forward base of operations along the much contested border of Temeria and their sworn enemies Coldara. East of Legion Front the earth was little more than a swath of scorched earth and the stench of the gallons of blood, tonnes of undead flesh, and ever-present bone penetrating sensation of evil for nearly 15 miles to the far side, where Coldara's Frost Citadel stood, a massive silent and brooding monument to the conflict between the two countries. The party used the relatively stable economy found in the market that had sprung up near Legion Front to fence several weapons and items "found" or "liberated" on the way there. Wisely deciding to keep the royal Coinage hidden while there, Bob's presence was met with cold neutrality and hushed comments. It was learned that there were very few gnomes in Temeria, as they were largely found in Coldara, and those that were in Coldara, were members of an elite force of siege engineers known as Mekgineers. The Mekgineer Corps were responsible for a heavy siege component of the Coldaran Military called Frost Constructs. By listening in to the older soldiers whispered stories in the pubs, some small bribes placed by Cyn, and the purchase of several rounds to the glory of the Temerian Military the following was learned. The Frost Constructs were neigh unstoppable killing machines, standing nearly 20 feet tall, and armed with massive heavy scythe-like blades, which cut down hundreds of skilled men and women as they attempted to defend the Dead Zone and hold their border. It was only the deployment of Temeria's greatest military assest, the Collared Elites, that the Constructs were defeated, pushed back with righteous fire and flame wielded with impunity by the Elites. Sadly, the Elites haven't been seen in action in those 10 years. They were basically a military secret in their own right so while this is somewhat peculiar, it isn't totally unheard of.

Big City, Deep Pockets:
The connection between the country of Temeria and the Elemental Plane of Fire was made more evident as the party arrived in Temeria City, with its thousands of ever-burning sconces lining the walls, and the vibrant yellow, orange, and red colors that served as the official colors of the state. The large walls topped with well-maintained siege equipment and compentent looking archers remind everyone that this is a military state at their core. Entrance to the city was a mixed bag for the party. They were congratulated for their successful capture of a wanted criminal and invited to the Palace for a proper reward, however, lack of paperwork from Alleria and Tirisfal led to an audit by a Tax Auditor. The party managed to sneak one saddlebag through, but 75,000 of the Coinage was returned, and the party was fined several thousand gold in taxes in order to pay for the gains they had made while in country. On the plus side, they did successfully manage to hide the presence of the Cups, due to Rick's inherent distrust of the Temerian Government, and his own insatiable curiousity. Customs officially behind them, the party decided to take up the invitation to meet the leadership of Temeria.

A Short History Lesson:
Of note on the way to the Royal sector was a tile mosaic set on the nearly mile long grand avenue leading through the upper class neighborhoods, which depicted the 1000 year heroic struggle Temeria had with their vile neighbors the Coldarans. At one time, both Temeria and Coldara were a united people, a nation thriving on its arcane research and deep seated theocratic roots. At its core, the schism between the two countries stemmed from a bitter rivalry between two princesses, daughter to the then King of Temeria (whole). The older, a devout follower of the religious means and very conservative, felt that she was the principal choice to rule in the wake of her Father's passing. The younger, a powerful sorceress with a fiery temper to match, was convinced that her sister's antiquated practices would lead the country into ruin. According to Temerian history, the older sister formed some manner of unholy pact with Jiikrak (g-cracked), the Frost Lord of the elemental Plane of Water. Using all of the powers at her disposal she claimed the eastern half of the kingdom by using foul undead and ice elementals. In a desperate attempt to save her countrymen from certain death, the younger sister used all of her sorceress knowledge and power to summon and bind to her countries' defense, the Fire Lord Ragnaros. The Fire Lord came, did as commanded, stopping the onslaught with a wave of his mighty fist, burning the wake between the two countries. In return, the whole of Temeria's citizenry converted to the religious faith of Ragnaros, who used the faith provided by his new disciples to secure his position in the Elemental Plane of Fire, so he could better protect Temerian's when they were threatened by the ever-hungry maw of Coldara. (It should be noted, that in Coldara, it is the younger sister who foolishly became the conduit for the Fire Lord first, creating massive destruction until the older was able, by divine intervention by the Frost Lord, to raise even the fallen of her faithful to defend their great country of Coldara) (It might further be noted that neither of these accounts is correct, instead that both the Frost Lord and the Fire Lord sought to increase their personal power and utilized a growing conflict on the prime material plane in a rather unheard of form of cooperation between the two, the likes of which will be rarely seen again)

Gravity, check:
Upon entering the grand plaza of Temeria's central avenue leading up to the towers of Law and Order (the seat of Temeria's High Council and their judiciary respectively), set on either side of the Royal Palace, the party was awestruck by the intricate detail and the flowing architecture. As they looked up at the Tower of Law, the sun struck their eyes just so, and they were forced to blink several times, attempted to get that darn dark spot out of their field of vision. The dark spot ended up making a large red spot, corresponding with a wet sickly noise of several thousand bone breaks and significant portions of major organs rupturing simultaneously. The prompt arrival of the guards kept the scene from escalating further, but once again Cyn was forced to ponder how exactly to get that much blood off of leather armor effectively. The clothing, perhaps one of the few things to survive the fall onto the stone street, appeared to be that of a Corrinna Barel, a councilwoman of one of the middle class wards. As primary witnesses to the crime, the party was escorted inside to the Council Chamber, an ornate hemispherical hall, with 13 large shaded windows, before the 13 seats, set in a half-circle around the dias' and presentation floor. Through the grand doors the party was ushered, somewhat harried, and left to their own devices on the presentation floor just off to the side. There was an understandable amount of panic going on inside the Chamber at that time, until Councilman Farnel, the head of the High Council, brought the commotion to an abrupt end. The party watched, as ever the politician, a councilman named Pluuresh, who banked on his family name to get his position, presented a letter from Councilman Barel that had been delivered to him that very morning, explaining that Barel had changed her mind on a recent council issue, and had decided to change her vote to instead lower the taxes on artisans practicing craft in Temeria proper. A councilman named Raidath, rumored to be a relative newcomer to Temeria City, being a very successful business man and savvy investor, objected to the vote, saying that it should be pushed until after the investigation into Barel's death had been concluded. The first (and only) witness to the event was a washer woman who had been scrubbing the floor on the High Terrace at the time that Barel had gone over the edge. She plainly stated that the councilwoman had walked right past her, "with sorta a sad look on 'er face", and without so much as a word, thrown herself off the ledge. There were many calls by the lobbyists and councilfolk that it was a clear suicide. Farnel interjected suggesting that perhaps a greater investigation should be conducted, and idea seconded by Raideth, who turned attention to the party. With their introduction letter, signed by one of the tax collectors, and verified via pigeon from Alleria announcing their imminent arrival, identifying them as the group of brave adventurers who single-handedly decimated the army of, and captured the infamous De'lamor Bel'shain, the party was widely accepted by the High Council as highly effective folk. Farnel suggested that the votes that Barel had made be placed on hold for a day and that the party attempt to find some answers before noon the following day, and the council begrudgingly conceded (in a 6 to 5 vote, with one abstaining (Farnel)). The party recieved a letter of introduction from the Council, authorizing them broad access and authority to investigate the crime, with the requirement that their findings be reported to the Council first.

Scooby Rick, Scrappy Cyn, and the Mystery Bob:
The first step in the intrepid investigation was to further traumatize the public by conducting a series of "scientific" exercises to determine the validity of the washerwoman's eyewitness account. This involved repeatedly pushing, throwing, and lightly tossing Bob off the roof, invoking his ring of feather fall at the last moment before he struck the ground to identify roughly how much force councilwoman Barel had on her person when she went off. After causing no less than 7 faintings, it was determined that the washerwoman was lying, as she landed much too far away from the base to have walked off the end, it being more likely that she was, in fact, thrown from the roof. Having been asked by the Guard to "please stop scaring the populace", the party heads into the Tower to search Barel's office. In a well-hidden secret drawer on Barel's desk, a journal was discovered, in Barel's handwriting, rather clearly indicating that contrary to Pluuresh's statement in the Council earlier, Barel was, in fact, strongly for raising the taxes on the artisans. By questioning some of the more politically savvy hangers on and lobbyists milling about the Tower, it was learned that the likely replacement for Barel would be significantly less skilled a politician, leaving something of a power vacuum where the skilled politician could garner a significant increase to their political clout. A decision was made to immediately go to the Barel residence and conduct a magical inquiry into her demise. This was met with extreme distaste, as necromantic spells are the chosen magicks of the "vile realm of Coldara". The evening growing late, the party thought it best to retire early, having the rare opportunity to stay in a rather high class inn for the night.

Collusium Collusion:
The fanfare of the big city woke the party early, the summer heat palpable but not yet overwhelming. After an excellent breakfast, the party headed out, with the intent to perhaps do some shopping before their noon meeting with the Council to display their evidence. It turned out that the day was Friday, and the biggest thing going on in Temeria City on friday mornings was the collusium fights, which went until 11, continuing again after 2, and into the evening. It was also perhaps the one of the largest draws in the city, as the party was herded along with the growing crowds into the massive stadium that took up nearly the entire northwestern corner of Temeria City. Bob was highly eager to engage in the fun, learning that there was both money to be won, and justifiable violence to be committed, a perfect combination his two favorite pasttimes. Somewhat new to the scene, he informed the junior fightmaster that he would "engage in a free for all if he did well in the single nonlethal combat sessions". Not surprisingly, Bob, being a gnome, one of the more distained races in Temeria, mysteriously did phenomenally well in the nonlethal sessions, gaining the first strike on each of his opponents. It was almost as if they were missing on purpose... In this fashion, Bob was swept into the grand finale of the morning, a free for all fight between Bob and several other combatants, principle among them a bezerker lunatic mass murderer, who was released on bail just to perform that day. Wagers were being taken, and while most of the party laid some coin on Bob, Alex bet significantly more than the rest, thinking perhaps he could magick his way into great wealth if Bob were to slip a bit on the field of battle. The melee ensued, with much hacking, smacking, blood-letting, mayhem, rage, and stabbing were shared, traded, and inflicted. In the end, by sheer luck according to most, by pure skill according to Bob, and without the aide of magick by Alex, Bob cut his way through his enemies, leaving a trail of entrails and blood behind him, clawing his way to the top of the heap and succeeding in winning. Pulling Having to sit through the Council meeting was perhaps the most difficult thing he did all day by his standards. The evidence the party had garnered in Barel's office, and their research into the arc of her descent had several quick responses. First off, Councilman Puuresh rather violently disagreed with the party's findings about Barel's vote, but a review of the document clearly indicated that it was indeed her handwriting. Puuresh stalked out of the proceedings, screaming that he had been set up, and that none of it made sense. The Council, after settling down, offered the party a lucrative deal to track down Barel's murderer, having decided that indeed, she had been murdered.

Puuresh's Confession:
The party felt it best to track down Puuresh, and have an off-the-record discussion with him about his obvious temper and foul mood concerning his colleague's demise. Tracking him down in the mercantile district, they stumbled directly into an ambush. Luckily the ambush was not for the party, rather for Puuresh. Using the narrow alleyways as a means to funnel melee combatants, and utilizing the three story roofs to create a killing field for their crossbowmen, several rogues and thugs looked to be very capable of dispatching Puuresh in short order. Cyn, highly unimpressed by the actual skill of the assasaination, was incensed that it appeared a theives' guild was attempting to move in on her own noble profession. In a rare display of bravado, she led the rescue, cutting through the unsuspecting ruffians like so much chaff. Bob was singled out by the archers, both by their dislike of gnomes, and by his repeated insistence that he wished to consume their spleens, preferably fresh cut from their still breathing bodies. Despite the loss of several body guards, the councilman was secured, and the thieves chased off. Puuresh, wounded, but alive, sullenly admitted his thanks to the party. He explained that while he did not trust them because of their actions and origin, he did feel indebted by their heroic actions. He also claimed that Councilman Barel did not keep a journal, explaining that she had personally come to him to change her vote on the artisian tax because she wanted to move against Councilman Raideth. She had also hinted that she had a devestating secret that might kill his political aspirations, but she was holding onto it until the elections were closer, so he would have less chance to refute them. As to what that secret was, he had no idea.

Color me Platemail:
Immediately after leaving the ambush, Bob announced his plan. First, he decided that the brand new, less than a day old, Fabricated mithril full platemail that Alex had Fabricated for him the day before was clearly too conspiquous to avoid notice. Second, that the principle means by which to accomplish this was to dye the armor. Thirdly, that a simple single color dye was insufficient to meet the impressiveness of the armor, seeking instead, a "metallic green/shimmery purple kind, that changes color when it moves". Yes, he expected that this would make the armor LESS conspiquous. With the party in tow, he headed into the tradesman district in search of a skilled alchemist to procure the dye. Picking the first shop he came to, he met a young man behind the counter who despite some confusion by the intent, assured Bob that it was well within his skill set to dye his armor the requested shimmer and that doing so was quite complex (read: expensive). Bob insisted on immediate treatment, offering up 1000 gold and his platemail on the spot. As he came outside wearing the thin pants and shirt one wears under platemail, he was questioned by the party as to the intelligence of handing over nearly 10,000 gold worth of mithril and coinage to a complete stranger. Bob promptly walked back in, and the shopkeeper assured him that he could get insurance against any sort of damage to his property by merely going down the street to an insurance office with whom that particular alchemist worked with previously. Bob leads the party to the office, spends another 100 gold on a policy, only afterward consulting Alex to decipher the legalese. Alex pointed to no less than three clauses that allowed the insurer not to pay in the event of theft. Bob decided that it was unacceptable, so he headed back to the alchemist's shop to better guard his coveted platemail. Upon his return, he found an elderly man at the counter, who claimed to be the shop's proprieter. He also claimed that he did not have a young apprentice, or any young man working there, instead that he had been in the basement working on a special order for the better part of the day and had never seen Bob before. After much slow head shaking while buried in their hands, Rick took initiative to discover the location of the wayward item by casting a Locate Object, there being a very small likelyhood that there being two sets of fabricated masterwork gnome-sized mithril sets of fullplate in the city. It was located, moving steadily east through the city, however, it seemed to also be 40 feet lower than the street. This led the party into a sewer expedition, resulting in the party stumbling into a large secret door, molded into a cul de sac. Inspection of the door by Cyn noted no fewer than 3 intricate traps, but before she could attempt to bypass them, a bolt hole was opened and the party was invited to come in, if they promised to keep their weapon's sheathed. The gentleman's agreement made, the party was led through a labyrinthine maze of tunnels, twists, turns, catwalks, and waterways (with only Alex successfully memorizing their location (largely by cheating his direction off his familiar who had remained above ground)) to a large empty cistern that had been converted into a throne room of sorts. There were a series of tables, all with a general roguish element seated at them, all eating and drinking, but at the end, on a chair that had clearly been stolen by its inherent ornateness compared to the rest of the room, sat a sharply dressed, leather armor clad human with bright emerald eyes. He sat somewhat lazily sideways on the throne, welcoming the party off-hand as they approached. He explained that he knew why they were there, and would happily return the gnome's toys if the party would listen to a proposition that he had. After confirming that all they had to do was listen, the party agreed. He produced two small vials of liquid, one bright red, the other a dark green, each with a firm cork stopper in it, but the vials were barely the size of the first pinky joint. He asked if the party knew what the fluid was, and was met with blank stares. He expressed that he had recently come into a significant amount of Bliss, the red liquid, and Agony, the green, an uncommonly addictive drug that was favored by the elite in Temerian society, but very recently had found a huge demand for in Coldara. He suggested that if the party were inclined to travel to Coldara, that there would be a significant reward for doing so, nearly 100,000 gold. The method of travel would be left up to the party, but the delivery had to be made soon, as demand was at a critical swell. At Rick's request, the Thieves' Guildmaster proffered "free" samples to the party, in the way of 10 vials of each to be distributed as we saw fit. The party had three days to decide whether to take up the challenge or not, but that a person would be waiting at a specific tavern for them if they decided to take the job. He also asked the party about Belshain's capture and what all they found on his person. Rick very cautiously avoided mentioning the Cups, but the guildmaster went on to suggest that "anything that they found, should probably be kept hidden". With that, the guildmaster had their items returned, and had the party escorted out. The party, exhausted from tracking down Bob's wayward armor, returned to have a restful night's sleep at the Inn.

Refined Testing:
Rick's curiousity had been known in the past to get the party into varying degrees of trouble. Despite several days worth of investigation, several attempts to discern their function or history, and all of Alex's not-inconsiderable arcane knowledge, it appeared that the Cups merely purified drink placed inside them, removing poisons from them. Some information was gathered on the Bliss and Agony however, suggesting that it was a relatively new drug among the cities' elites, having only been available roughly after the end of the previous war. Alex's ongoing deciphering of Belshain's journal led him to believe that there were a series of payoffs to various officials within the city, and while the amounts were becoming clearer, the origin of the funding and the names of those involved remained illusive. Meanwhile, Cyn had traveled out into the city, approached a drunk in a back alley, and given him both Bliss and Agony in succession, the first resulting in a quivering pile of homeless man repeated ejaculating on himself, the second resulting in making Cyn almost feel squeamish by the sheer pain and suffering that wracked the man's body before his heart gave out and he expired in the back alley where she had found him. Late in the evening, after the initial results of the effects of Agony and Bliss had been explained and all had retired to their rooms, Alex was awoken by Rick who wished to attempt to use the Cups. Rick was wondering what effect the drugs would have on the Collared slaves, since it was clear that they could not actually experience emotions beyond what was commanded of them by their master. With Alex standing by, and his own healing magicks at the ready, they poured a vial of bliss into one cup, and a vial of agony into another, and had Mindy and Miranda each drink from a cup. The effects were somewhat profound. Mindy, having drank Bliss from the Cup, rose several inches off the floor as if levitating, but the waves of heat emminating from her suggested that the air below her was so hot it was lifting her. Her eyes erupted into a bright glowing fire, and tracery lines of flame could be seen in the arteries and veins under her skin. Miranda, having taken Agony by Cup, stayed on the floor, but her skin darkened like ash, her eyes becoming like dull glowing coal, the heat from Mindy pooling around and into Miranda. They stood, bodies rigid, and in perfect Ignan, asked what the master wanted burned. Alex could feel the arcane energies bursting from the Cups, and wisely chose to not say anything. The Cups were tucked away into a bag of holding and as soon as they were in the extradimensional space, both Mindy and Miranda returned to their normal state, with no recollection or memory of what had occurred. Rick's curiousity could not be sated however, and so he borrowed Edgar from Bob's room, pulling a Cup out to feed him both Agony and Bliss at the same time. The concoction turned a light-sucking black in the Cup, with both the fiery and burning coal eyes of Mindy and Miranda looking on. There seemed to be a similar reaction to both of the M's, with a wave of heat coming off of Edgar, and his head rocked back slightly, his mouth opening to erupt into a silent scream as pulses of intense heat starting to flash out of Edgar. The curtains, drapes, and all of the paper in the room burst into flame immediately, the paint peeling from the heat, the wood beneath darkening rapidly. Mindy and Miranda seemed completely unaffected. Alex quickly threw up a wall of ice, sealing Edgar in the middle of a ring. The thick ice was unfortunately crystal clear as it was both melting at a high rate of speed, and magically generated. Through it, Rick and Alex watched in horror (Alex's mock) as a rift (presumably) to the Elemental Plane of Fire erupted from Edgar's bellybutton, slowly encroaching outward, his face wracked in the epitomy of pain and suffering until the rift grew to consume his torso, spreading down to consume his legs, outward down his arms, and finally consuming his head. Rick stuffed the Cup back into his bag, hoping to end the event, but though the twins reverted, Edgar clearly did not. To avoid a death by boiling in super-heated air, Alex disintegrated a hole in the floor, dropping Rick, himself, Mindy, and Miranda to the ground floor, and then running out the front. The twins were confused as to how it all happened but grateful to Alex for saving them, Rick was happy to have figured out (kinda) what was going on, and that is how the party ended up with two Collared Elites, although they weren't entirely sure how to utilize or explain what they had.

Of Loup Garou and Drow:
Getting the party together a couple blocks from the growing fire, as the engulfed Inn consumed buildings on all sides of itself, the party realized they were close to the Tower of Law. Further, they recognized a shadowy figure moving away from the Tower at a fast pace. It was Raideth's right hand man and bodyguard, a powerfully built human, who seemed to be perpetually scowling. Finding it strange to that he was seperated from Raideth, the party moved to intercept him, and his bodyguard's fragile hold on his rage was broken. Under the light of the nearly full moon, the party discovered that the only thing worse than a werewolf, was a werewolf with monk levels. After dealing with the flurry of claw and tooth, the party emerged bloody but victorious. In the morning the party traveled to the Council, to present their findings, and to question Raideth about his subordinate's infection. Instead of finding Raideth there, they found De'lamor Belshain before the Council, collared and looking quite a bit less threatening than before. They questioned him about his activities and the thefts, to which he responded in a grave monotone, in as few words as possible, explaining he was indeed behind the actions of his purported mercenary squad, and that he had in fact successfully pilfered the Temerian Royal Vault. It was when he was asked who had hired him that something strange happened. Belshain smiled and the cunning gleam returned to his eyes. Only Cyn and Rick noticed it, but on Belshain's wrist appeared to be a bracelet that looked nearly identical in form to the collar he was wearing. Belshain snapped his fingers, and for a brief moment, time stopped for all but him. In a blur of activity, Belshain flew through the castings of several spells, culminating with an ominous statement that he would "be seeing you all again soon", then disappearing with a sharp pop as he teleported away, leaving in his place several bright orange-red glowing spheres hanging in the air. Despite being unable to cast the spell, Alex recognized the spell instantly, yelling at all in the room get down and take cover. The delayed blast fireballs detonated, taking out many of the windows, and injuring many. Thanks to the quick warning however, no one was directly killed. Serious spellcraft checks later, Alex determined that if someone had two collars put on them, that the first one placed would take precedence over any others. It was also determined that Belshain had NOT had the bracelet before he had been arrested, meaning that he had gotten it since he had been incarcerated.

Sunset on Raideth:
The party assumed that Raideth must also be of the lycanthropic bent, hence his strange behavior. Learning that he had retired for the weekend to his house out in the farmland surrounding Temeria City, the party left the city, and in the deep of night, headed to Raideth's Manor. The closeness to the full moon encouraged the parties' concerns. The Manor house was surrounded on all sides by heavily overgrown forest, with a single path leading in, just wide enough for a carriage. That path was deemed the "easy way" and the party never went the "easy way", so they instead traversed through the misty trees. It was unsurprising to them that both the forest and the mist attempted to slow their entrance, as they were beset by a couple treants and a pack of Mist Wolves, but they proved to be ineffective at dissuading their social call. Finally the Manor House was in sight, a low setting sturdy looking two story affair. A deadly poison trap on the front door later, and the party made their way into the dining hall where Raideth greeted them warmly, asking what had brought them out that evening. He invited them all to sup with him, calling for additional places to be set for the party. Lulled into a false sense of complacency, Raideth attempted to dominate Bob with his vampiric powers, only to discover that to mind control someone, they needed a mind. His secret revealed, at least to Bob, he attempted to drain (levels) lifeforce from Rick and Bob, before discovering that even without a silvered weapon Bob's power attacks were not the sort of thing that even a vampire wanted to experience. In an effort to escape, Raideth turned into mist, funnelling himself through a prepared escape hole near the floor. Believing that he was about to make good on his escape, he slid across the grounds away from the house, only to discover that Alex's revelation that 1) he could see the mist formed vampire, 2) that a fireball required line of sight to function properly, and 3) area of effect spells can damage incoporeal creatures such as beings made of mist. So, through a 2" bolt hole, a bright bead of orange-red energy zipped out to the mist form and exploded in a violent manner congruent with its intent. One vampire permanently dispatched, the party searched the house finding a journal and a key to Belshain's ciphered journal, allowing for complete translation. It appeared that Raideth had been a long time plant from Coldara, sent over near the end of the last war. A darkness spell had been cast on his person, then made permanent, to allow him to be in direct sunlight without any ill effects. Using his vampiric domination powers, along with considerable business acumen, he carved a small business empire into Temeria proper, gaining power and wealth so he could weasel his way onto the Council itself. It was learned that he had originally utilized funds to help the Ignan Orc uprising, leaving the details to the Executor in the Fire Plane to actually do the deed. It also appeared that his political motivations seemed to be to spread Temeria's standing army as widely and as thinly as possible, in an attempt to subvert smaller units and replace them with Coldaran special forces, critically undermining the militaries' effectiveness, and allowing Coldara to steamroll over Legion Front, their biggest obstacle in every invasion. Between the two journals it was clear that the Coldaran royalty was behind the vampire and the drow's involvement, though Alex seemed to think that Belshain's involvement seemed somewhat incongruent with Raideth's.

A Going Away Party:
The uncovering of a Coldaran agent in their midst, plus the recovery of a majority of the royal coinage, and the parties quick reaction to save the lives of the Council itself made the party instant celebrities, prompting their invitation to the Royal castle to attend a Ball in their honor the following evening. The party decided to go into it fully, both to enjoy the attention, but also, to gain access to some of the nobility who they wanted to question. Principle among those was the tax collector that originally took custody of Belshain, hoping to question him about the mysterious bracelet. Mindy and Miranda proved to be invaluable, running a day long seminar on "proper" ettiquette for the party, focusing on utensil placement, and proper forms of attire. Bob could not be convinced to not wear his armor, so the twins took it upon themselves to carefully paint a suit over the metal, to give the appearance of clothing. They also procured, from some of the better jewelers in town, largely by mentioning that the party was responsible for Raideth's plan to raise their taxes to fail, several pieces of extravagant jewelry to best accentuate Cyn's... assets. Cyn, unaccustomed to formal wear or the concept of spending large amounts of coin on clothing that did not contain secret pockets or built in theives' tools, was essentially left in the twin's care for the better part of the day, as they drug her from shop to shop, finally finding the perfect gown to "fit" her into. Cyn's remarkable dexterity and balance served her well, considering the severity of the heels she was strapped into, and the dress, plus the twin's choice of jewelry caused the entire party to be dumbstruck by Cyn's entrance. Cyn felt the need to hide a dagger on her thigh in an effort to not feel "naked". With the party in the best attire they had ever owned, or on loan, they made their way via royal carriage to the castle itself. Thanks largely to the critical support of the twins (who looked stunning in deep purple sheath dresses as hand-servants to black and arcane symbol robed Alex), the party managed to properly eat, greet, and even partook in a dance without dramatically embarassing themselves, or their hosts. Rick's forwardness with the Princess Cynthia of Temeria resulting in a private audience with him being called at the end of the festivities. Cyn tracked down the tax collector, and after questioning him, and resorting to using Bliss on him, the party discovered that he was not responsible for the bracelet. Meanwhile, in a private chamber, with a 17 year old princess, Rick found himself fighting to keep up appearances. Even more so when the princess rather provocatively produced a vial of Bliss, and asked Rick in a mock innocent tone if he knew what it was. Rick, feeling somewhat out of his depth, feigned ignorance, as the Princess tasked the party with taking a shipment to a port city in the south. Then, to the incredulous Rick, the Princess poured the vial into a goblet of wine, and drained it dry. Expecting a somewhat more physical reaction, he was more shocked to see the Princess' eyes flutter between glowing red and flaming bursts, fading quickly as she sank back into the plush chair she sat in, a sly smile on her lips. She bade him leave, and Rick quickly complied.

A Running Away Party:
In the morning, Rick relayed to the party the Princesses' command, and suggestion that she was looking to cut out the middleman on her shipment. It was quickly determined to be the shipment that the theives' guildmaster was speaking of, so in the pursuit of coin, they picked up a heavily magicked and well locked chest from the guild's man. All the shopping done, all the jewels returned (much to Cyn's dismay), and the party together, and Bob confused by where Edgar had gone (he had not been told), they gathered to form a procession to leave town. Unfortunately, Jason was feeling somewhat ill, and though it didn't seem to have any obvious source, it did not appear magical in nature, more likely, it was just kid-sick. Therefore, Jason, Tommy, and the twins rode inside the carriage, with the blindingly magical chest strapped securely to the top. The party fell into a line of folks attempting to leave the city, but each were being stopped in turn and having an amulet run over their belongings, though the white stone didn't appear to do anything. The prefect that was prepping the line for inspection arrived at the party's carriage and horses, and inquired as to their purpose, and requested that they open the chest to reveal its contents. He firmly stood by his line that they were checking for contraband leaving the city, contraband that the party was absolutely positive that they had in the aforementioned locked chest. Bob took it upon himself to use his incredible oration skills to talk the party through unscathed. However, since he was confused by which country the party was actually in, he started off with "All hail Coldara, best place ever". This did not provoke the reaction he had anticipated, and Rick, seizing upon the gravity of the situation faster than the rest, blasted the poor guard with his newly acquired circlet. In the pandemonium, the party managed to run the gate, Alex slowing the chase by dropping a cloudkill spell on the gate's entrance, essentially killing 10's of guards who attempted to rush through it. The chase was on however, the carriage moving slower than a soldier on horseback, but Rick's keen eyesight and deadly aim even at extreme range kept the pursuers well behind the party for fear of being killed by arrowfire. As they passed over a bridge less than a mile from the gate, Alex disintegrated a critical support, causing it to collapse behind them, effectively blocking pursuit until they could fjord the river. The party rode hard for the better part of the day, until the forest became denser to their south, and then ditched the carriage in the woods, while rick and cyn covered the tracks, and the party, hauling the locked chest on horseback, headed deeper into the dense forest on foot.

Can't See the Forest for the Dragons:
After two days of slow travel, with Rick and Cyn double checking the pursuing forces, and insuring that the parties' path was well covered, they started to travel at a greater speed, traveling roughly along the south flowing nearly quarter mile wide river that flowed south along Temeria City, and all the way down to the coastal flats. Four days of travel after that, the party figured by their relatively accurate map of the area, that they had very recently passed the halfway point between the City and the next closest town down the river. To get a better view Rick scampered up a tree, catching a glimpse of something large and green wingover a nearby mountain, disappearing from view, but not before giving him a near perfect sillouhete of a dragon in flight. Rick informed the party, and by group consensus (everyone but Bob), it was agreed that the party should as quietly and directly as possible leave the dragon's immediate area. Later that night, the party's standard watch rotation was in place as the party slept inside the thick walled magical house that Alex's arcane mastery provided. So it was Bob, who heard whimpering out just beyond where the horses were tethered. Peering through the window, he saw a small disheveled human girl, weeping agianst a tree. She called out, begging for help, and that she was lost, but Bob, in a demonstration of either brilliance or apathy, refused to assist her. She made an angry face and disappeared into the woods. Quite shortly thereafter, two of the horses disappeared in a dragon fly-by attack, disappearing into the night sky. The party fell out onto the yard in front of the stone house, hoping to protect what little horseflesh they had left, in part because they were carrying the locked chest, and in part because walking the whole way would have taken a considerable amount of time. The party was forced to dodge out of the way as their horses came screaming out of the night at them, having been flung by the enraged dragon. After several arrows, and spells had been flung at the beast, it was clear that its hit and run tactics were going to get the better of the party. It had resorted to grabbing carcasses of the first horses or small trees, and using them as missiles from great height against the party. Rick, in a method of desperation, pulled a Cup from his bag and gave it to Alex, sensing that it required an arcane touch to operate. Through intense exertion and sheer titantic concentration, Alex managed to activate Mindy and Miranda, who put their hands out and engulfed the beast in a shimmering beam of darkness and a subtly flicking beam of reddish hellfire. The Dragon landed on Bob, pinning him beneath its massive claws, trying to snap past Rick's desperate defense to get at the twins. Despite the massive heat clearly being discharged by them Rick only felt hints of it as his blade met the dragon's scaled hide, as it passed through the dark field covering it. With a mighty effort Alex managed to utilize the twins as a conduit to the plane of fire, and to further encapsulate the dragon in a magical field that simply reflected the heat back into the dragon, literally cooking it alive. In a flash of light and heat, like standing in front of the blast forge in a dwarven capital, there remained nothing but powdered dragon-ash, raining down upon the party. Despite a Cup being out, the twins looked perfectly normal (by their standards), and could not recall anything that had just happened. As the party retired for the evening, Rick insisted on "recharging" the twins, by feeding them each a Bliss and Agony via a Cup again, which produced the same results as before. Rick stowed the cups, and the rest of the evening continued unabated.

Bob Being Useful:
In the morning, a thorough search of the surrounding area determined that the Green dragon that had attacked us likely had an underwater lair rather than a cave or something similar. A search of the river located a natural cave entrance, and with the aid of a ring of elemental command over water and his newly acquired magically augmented eyesight, Alex was able to search the cave thoroughly. Around noon time, he finally located the Bag of Holding containing the dragon's stash of goods, the longest lasting of these treasures being the Luck Blade that Alex immediately lay claim to. It was decided that walking was no longer an efficient means of travel, given that the dragon had killed a large percentage of the parties' mounts, and Jason remained sick. A bit of healing magicks seemed to perk him up, but it did not last through the day. While Alex had been searching, the party took to cutting down some trees near the river, coercing Alex to utilize a large number of Fabricate spells to form a barge to utilize the river's flow to aid their travel. Given that almost any description that had preceeded the party anywhere in Temeria would include "traveling with a gnome in shiny platemail", Bob was given the ring of elemental command over water, to give him water breathing, as his new job as the anchor for the barge was initiated. Successfully manuevering through several locks down the river, the party arrived a few days ride from the port town they were headed for intially. After restocking their mounts, and sneaking Bob out of town, they headed out.

Plots Revealed at Sea:
Upon arriving at the port, the party left the twins and the boys at a tavern near the dock, and headed off to meet their contact, who paid them their fee. As they came back to the tavern, Rick noticed that the twins were running into the back of the inn, and that the boys were nowhere to be found. He gave chase, discovering Tommy in the back, yelling that they had taken Jason! A trio of rough thugs were visible through a window fleeing down the dock carrying Jason. Rick gave chase, diving into the water after the men, summoning a dolphin to aid his movement. The men reached a vessel that was already rigged to sail out of the bay, that was clearly waiting for them to arrive to leave. Rick was forced to give up pursuit as the men pulled a bag from Jason's belt that no one had ever noticed being there before, and throwing the boy overboard. Rick pulled him out of the deep, and swam him back to the dock. When questioned, Jason suddenly remembered being handed a bag to carry with him by a stranger right before they left Temeria City, but couldn't remember ever seeing it on his belt for the whole trip there until the men had snatched it from him. The party agreed to join the pursuit of the fleeing vessel in the ship that was taking the locked chest to Coldara. A week-long sea voyage saw the party gaining ground on their prey, but a large storm slowed their progress and their pursuit, arriving in the Coldara port town less than an hour after the men they chased.

Coldara At Last:
As quickly as the party could de-board and attempt to track the men, it was discovered that they had already fled the town via horseback at a full gallop. The party was forced to delay slightly to finish their transaction with the mekgineer gnomes they were delivering the locked chest too, getting a quick view of business as usual in Coldara. A public trial was being held, with a man being accused of raping a woman. They watched in barely contained horror as the judge slit the man's throat, then asked his corpse whether he had committed the crime or not. As the dead cannot lie, the man's spirit said that he had not done it. The judge then motioned to a cleric who raised the man, and promptly released him. They also noticed a significant number of undead in the town, most of them dockworkers directed by calculating looking men and women directing more undead at once than should be possible. The mekgineer's section of town left little to the imagination as to why there was such distrust and fear of gnomes in Temeria, a great multitude of Frost Constructs, their unliving flesh parts rotted since the last war, but their steel and iron parts clearly showing the monstrosity of the beast when it was at its peak.

The Chase:
Their part in the smuggling operation complete, the party purchased a second set of mounts to engage in the pursuit, allowing them to make better time. Despite their attempts, they could not seem to catch up to their prey, as they seemed to be trading off for fresh horses at each and every rest stop, riding their beasts to the point of death. The party managed to keep up with them extraordinarily well however, traveling in four days what should have taken nearly two weeks by horseback alone. It was near noon on the fifth day of the chase, the party largely exhausted by lack of sound sleep, and sore from days spent of hard riding that they were confronted by a familiar face. As they came over a rise, their horses slowed to a canter, then to a stop as a drow hung in the air, levitating off the roadway, a hand outstretched signaling the party to stop. In a display of self-control that was exemplary, they did so, waiting for him to speak. The dark elf sorcerer explained that he was the principle spymaster for the current Crown Princess of Coldara, Jazmine Fontaine, the great-great-great-great-great-great-great grand daughter of Courtney Fontaine, the original sister whose religious convictions drove a wedge between Coldara and Temeria in the first place. It was also revealed that Courtney Fontaine was still alive, sort of, having long since become a lich, and acting behind the throne as an acting Lich Queen of the country since its division from Temeria all those years ago. From the Water Lord Hydronox, she had been gifted a cauldron, the Cauldron Mortis, through which she was able to create and control a massive number of undead simultaneously. Hydronox issued this artifact to her to counter the gift that Ragnaros had given to Tiffany Fontaine, Courtney's sister of long ago, the Gilded Cups, the artifact that the party had been unwittingly carrying since they had first met Belshain. He also explained that he knew what the men that the party were chasing carried, and what it was intended for. He explained that in the fields that served as the principle battleground between Temeria and Coldara, a tremendous amount of necromantic and elemental magick had been spilled along with thousands of gallons of blood. Over time, that amount of evil seeped into the stone itself, forming obsidian shards that when ground up, produced something he called Dead Stone. Dead Stone possessed no inherently magical elements, it was just anti-life, making any who carried it sick, but more importantly, when introduced into the Cauldron Mortis, would allow the Lich Queen to produce an undead the likes of which would not be seen again until the end of days. Further that the only counter to the raw power of the Cauldron was the Cups themselves, believed to be antithetical artifacts, capable of destroying each other. In reality, both the Cups and Cauldron were created by Ragnaros and Hydronox working together, as a means to bring more devotees to their respective causes, a union that will likely never again occur. He claimed that he had originally been ordered by the Lich Queen to steal the cups, and prevent them from being brought to bear in the renewed conflict that the Queen hoped to crush with her new weapon before the Temerian's could rally. With the small legion of gnomes, an equal number of necromancers, the Cauldron, and the infusion of the Dead Stone it seemed very likely that whatever she was making, it would easily destroy the Temerian Army. Belshain explained that his fealty was to Jazmine, the Princess, and that if she were ever to become Queen, the current queen must die. Further, that the suicidal path and zealotry the queen was demonstrating recently led him to believe that she had finally gone fully insane. There was strong evidence to suggest that the Cauldron served also as the Queen's phylactery, meaning that only its destruction would allow for the Queen's actual demise. The revelation that a vampire had been on the Council had sent Temeria into a high alert status, mobilizing their military, causing Coldara to do the same. Belshain had spent the better part of the day coaxing both sides farther north, to allow the party time to intercept the Queen's monstrosity and the Queen before it was able to take the field of battle. Without the aide of the Cups, and the Collared Elites that relied on them, it was highly unlikely that Temeria would survive such an assault, and once they fell, most of the western kingdoms would be in danger from the Queen's insanity as well. The party was left with little option but to act as Belshain's arm and strike at the Queen, though the promise of loot had to be added to compel Bob. Belshain explained that he had several druids working to add fog to the battlefield, hoping that the lack of clear line of sight would allow the party to get closer to the Queen before she realized they were there. Off they went toward the sounds of war.

And We Wanted to Catch This Why?:
The mists parted slightly, revealing a war-torn battle field. The vegetation here was literally trampled into the ground so many times, blood spilled upon it so often, and terrible magical forces cast over its surface with such savagry that the earth itself had given up all hope of recovery. In the distance, the mists making any measure difficult, they heard the steady thump of marching drums, and the cadence of armored feet mustering. There is noise of battle, clashes of steel on steel, the meatier steel on flesh, screams of those fighting and dying. It is then that they feel it. A quiver in the earth, a pool of bloody mud rippling from the tremor. It almost sounds like the creaking of an old house, but the tremors, they grow in size and volume, coming toward the party. Their guide darted forward, only to be cloven in twain by a massive scythe-like blade at least 30 feet long swept out of the mists, cutting the man cleanly in half with little more sound than the sucking wet noise as it disappeared back into the mists above. A heavy thud followed, one after another, and out of the mists a heavy meat covered foot appeared, it appeared that body shields had been strapped across it, heavy thick wire running between the joints, the flesh a curious mismatch of donors, its foul odor proceeding it. And the leg it supported was a least 20 feet around. And there were four of them, moving the thing forward in an ungainly gait, the whole top disappearing into the mists above, making horrible noises as bone bent and strained against steel with each step. Leaving the twins to follow on the ground behind it, with instructions to come up only after a floor had been cleared, the party started to climb their way up the thick sinewy legs, tent pegs and rebar steel protruding from uncomfortable places, making the climb difficult, and keeping their lunch down more so. Upon reaching a lower torso of sorts, Rick and Cyn silently moved up on the pikemen guarding the lower tier, a sort of catwalk/walkway system seemed to built into the creature itself, not dissimilar to a walking siege tower. Cyn demonstrated the fine art of assasaination by inserting a finely balanced razor sharp dagger neatly between the third and fourth vertebrae on her target, just above the armor, in the tiny space below the helm, resulting in neigh instantaneous expiration. Rick, not to be outdone, cast Silence on a copper coin, and then shoved his guard off the front, watching as nearly 400 tonnes of steel, necromantically animated flesh, and guardsmen were brought to bear against one human's chest. It did not end well for him, but at least it was fast. They threw down lines, to aid the climbers below, finding rope ladders in place to take them up to the next tier, the heavy fog aiding their stealthy approach. On the next tier up, it was clear that what they were climbing was designed to shatter walls itself, as they were already a hundred feet off the ground, and the creature's multi-jointed limb stretched easily that long, made from massive bones from an unknown behemoth, and sporting 30 foot long, 10 foot across blade on one side, and a equally massive maul on the other. Unfortunately, they were climbing out of the fog bank, so their incursion was noticed. Scrambling up the ladders and moving into a rough fighting formation, the party realized they were looking up at a massive skull of a demonic creature, large segments missing from the reconstruction replaced with metal, giving it a frighteningly cold appearance. Resting atop the skull was a large black cauldron that seemed to ooze preternatural cold and absorb more light than it should. Gazing into said cauldron was the wretched face of Courtney Fontaine, the Lich Queen of Coldara, whose green incoporeal eyes gazed down at the interlopers with equal parts surprise and rage. As the battle atop the Siege Construct continued, the fogs were finally clearing, the spellcasters on either side finally overcoming the druid's contribution to the confusion. The two armies had reformed their lines just in time for the Siege Construct to burst through the retreating fog bank, a nearly two hundred foot tall abomination reeking of undead and unnatural cold, its gaping maw opening and closing making sharp cracking noises that echoed for miles. That both lines held from the initial entrance bespoke of the years of training that both sides underwent and the state of the respective line officers. Having cleared the fog, the monstrosity had started moving forward with frightening speed, eating up terrain as it went, closing on the army lines fast, with no clear indication that it had any cognizance of side. At that moment, Bob struck a final blow with his newly acquired Sun Blade, the holy power behind the blade smashing the Lich Queen into a showering clatter of bone that flew in all directions. The creature began to more erratically, its driver gone, the legion of souls bound inside it driving it mad. Rick made a snap decision and snatched the bag of holding from Alex's belt where the Cups were held, and made a dash for the cauldron. Cyn grapped the other end of the straps and helped him climb the short tower up to the cauldron, all the while sneaking the largest gems she could out of the bag, knowing full well the financially ruinous thing that Rick was about to do. Rick upended the Bag of Holding, the Gilded Cups falling out (along with all of the rest of Alex's possessions, less some hard coin and what he was wearing) into the tar-like liquid in the Cauldron. Jumping down to Alex as the wizard prepared a scroll given to them by Belshain, the two landed near enough to Alex for him to speak the words and suddenly the party found themselves on the ground nearly half a mile away. The deafening explosion and searing pillar of fire that resulted knocked the party off their feet, and they watched as the ripple of concussive force knocked the armies' to their backsides as well.

Loose Ends:
Belshain appeared shortly thereafter, and used another Circle of Teleportation to bring the party to a small non-descript graveyard, set against a cliffside. Moving a secret lever, he moved a stone aside and guided the party down into a small alcove wherein the Party found the remnants of Courtney Fontaine's mortal life, and the treasure she had been garnering ever since her conversion to Lichdom. The party learned that without the Queen, Belshain's mistress, Jazmine would finally have an opportunity to work toward a peace between the two countries. In fact, it had been a conspiracy by both Princess Jazmine of Coldara and Princess Cynthia of Temeria to find a means by which they could lure the Lich Queen into a false sense of security and entice her to commit the full brunt of her power, thereby exposing the source of that power to destruction. While a complete peace would be a long way off, the destruction of the two artifacts left Temeria with a large population of de-Collared slaves, who would continue to feel whatever they were last "set" on, and Coldara with a significant undead population to be dealt with. However, Coldara's casters specialized in undead, so it was thought that they would prevail without a significant amount of real death, and Temeria's indentured servitude was something of an accepted commonplace occurance, so the transition was thought to be less troublesome. Belshain teleported the party to the northern edge of Coldara leading into the Barrier Mountains, suggesting that perhaps due to their infamy, it would be best if they were not seen within the borders of either state for some time. As a result of their being "charged" but not activated, the twins' collar fell off, but left them permanently attuned to the Elemental Plane of Fire, making them both immune to fire, but oddly also resistant to cold (15).

What actually happened:
The vampire Raideth was usurping funds from his businesses to fund a radical rebellion using one of Ragnaros' political rivals to provide the magical might to overcome the Collars. The Ignan Orc uprising was supposed to be the cause that led Raideth's call for the Legion to respond to put down the rebellion, leaving Legion Front much less manned. At that point, he would report back to the Lich Queen via Sending, so that the full brunt of Coldaran's army could crush Legion Front and march on Temeria City before the army could reform. The party kinda nipped that in the bud, but Raideth did not know who exactly put the rebellion down. Upon being kicked back to the Elemental Plane of Fire, the Executor Asroth was unfortunately found out by Ragnaros and was currently stuffed into a giant coal deposit being crushed into a diamond for several thousand years and therefore unable to return any calls.

Ten years prior, the drow sorceror De'lamor Belshain, a double agent for Coldara, was working as mercenary in Temeria, causing such devestation as to undermine Temerian authority among its own citizenry. When he was declared outlaw, he followed the Lich Queen's plan to infiltrate the Royal Vault and steal the Gilded Cups. While his plan to get in and egress was perfect, it did not include a then 7 year old Princess Cynthia of Temeria being involved in the binding ritual with the Cups on the night that he chose to rob the Vault. The ritual, which involved the child drinking from all eight cups a variety of fluids from the Elemental Plane of Fire, was designed to create the bond between Ragnaros and the Prime Material Plane, offering Ragnaros more direct power (much the same way Hydronox had a direct link via Courtney's unlife) from his faithful. All Cynthia knew of the ritual was that it hurt horribly, so when Belshain interrupted it, swiping the Cups into a bag of holding, he inadvertantly made a best friend for life. Only partially bound, the wily Cynthia demanded to speak with Belshain's boss. Thinking he should play along, he introduced Cynthia to the 7 year old Jazmine of Coldara, Crown Princess of Coldara (the Lich Queen's authority was not a publicly known thing). He left a trinket for the two of them to communicate through, thinking that once they learned who the other was they would just report it, and thereby sparking some manner of scandal between the two countries, but he underestimated the attraction of a faceless nameless friend to a pair of Princesses' who felt rather lonely in their own worlds. Thus began the friendship that led to the convoluted plan to use the maruading adventuring party to bring down the greatest threat to both of the young ladies. Their great(x7) grand mother.