The Bladelands Chronicles

Prologue: Sanctuary

22-24 July 2005, at Candleston

A group of adventurers set forth to Sanctuary, the one safe port on the Bladelands, guided by a member of the Navigator's guild. En route their ship is blown off course and is wrecked on the rocky shore of the Bladelands. The survivors regroup on shore and follow their Navigator, battling their way through many strange foe until they reach the relative safety and civilisation of a fief. Unfortunately the fief is under attack from foulspawn, struggling to maintain its borders. When some of the new arrivals raid a Keltoi tomb, looting it of valuable artefacts, the local tribes also attack the fief. During the conflict, a mage who had been involved in the raid is handed over to the Keltoi in an attempt to pacify them. To save himself he makes a deal with an Outsider, a powerful creature of evil which the tribes have allied themselves with, and gives it a strange magical orb which had been stolen from the tomb. Eventually, not even this is enough to pacify the Keltoi, and the combined might of Keltoi and foulspawn overrun the fief. The survivors are forced to flee to the neighbouring fief of Saltwash.

Read more....

Chapter 1: The Bitter Cup

11-9 September 2005, at Horley

Having escaped to Saltwash, the survivors are granted sanctuary by Lord Thomas. He houses them in a settlement known as Woody Edge, on the border between Saltwash and School Town. While Lord Thomas is visiting School Town, word arrives in Woody Edge that a holy golden chalice, the Cup of Rhiannan, has been stolen from School Town, and that a young changeling girl called Ellie has been kidnapped. Despite recovering Ellie and the Cup, the adventurers at Woody Edge manage to loose both again, and ultimately are unable to prevent Ellie being sacrificed by dark cultists and her blood being used to desecrate the sacred Cup. To make matters worse, during the proceedings a Priest and Knight of Rhiannan who are visiting from School Town are killed, resulting in a state of war being declared between Saltwash and School Town.

Read more.....

Chapter 2: Hosts of HIstory

13-17 April 2006, at Horley

The inhabitants of Woody Edge gather to celebrate the festival of Anseris Pass, but the foulspawn of the Bladelands remember the battle also and gather their forces to attack in memory of the Mountain King, making the re-enactments of the battle somewhat more realistic than anyone had bargained for. While the celebrations continue, a corrupted Oriad, known as the GateKeeper, is released from a long magical confinement, and wreaks havoc on the surrounding area. A scroll is uncovered which tells the tale of this spirit, of how it once guarded a mighty city known as Amaru Tupac, against the evil ones, but was eventually driven insane such that it had to be imprisoned. The scroll also tells of the magics which were used to imprison the GateKeeper, but unfortunately such powerful magics are beyond the abilities of the mages of Woody Edge, or the Keltoi who dwell nearby, and so it is decided to destroy the spirit, even though to do so may weaken the protection around the fabled Amaru Tupac, and whatever treasures it holds. With great difficulty, the GateKeeper is destroyed, the foulspawn are driven off, and peace returns - at least temporarily - to Woody Edge.

Read more...

Chapter 3: Orc's Drift

2-4 June 2006, at Harmergreen

The adventurers move from Woody Edge to a settlement on the far side of the fief of Saltwash, by the name of Fort Winnofar, in the hope that their increased distance from School Town will help the two fiefs resolve their differences and bring an end to the war between them. In the woods near Fort Winnofar an orc, marked by his unusual, albino complexion, gathers the foulspawn to him and organises them into a military force to be reckoned with. This causes difficulties for the local Keltoi, as well as the inhabitants of the Fort, and so the orcish warlord has to be dealt with. After a mighty battle, he is defeated by the brave adventurers.

Chapter 4: Rise, Minions....

4-6 August 2006, at Harmergreen

A number of Keltoi wise ones approach a boggy area to the North of Fort Winnofar, in an attempt to perform a ritual to subdue a source of undead there. They are disrupted in their task by residents of the Fort, who do not understand their purpose. As a result a large number of undead appear and terrorise the locals, until the area is cleansed and the portal through which they are appearing is closed.

Chapter 5: Amaru Tupac

29 September - 1 October 2006, at Fort Widley

A way is found to visit Amaru Tupac, the ancient city spoken of in the scroll which told of the GateKeeper, and the adventurers set forth with hopes of discovering great treasures. The city can only be approached using the Dragon Paths, and is buried deep below ground. The adventurers face and overcome many trials to gain entrance, aided by the mighty Sidhe spirit, Hunter, and battle their way through the city's defences and various foul creatures which have come to inhabit it. They are rewarded with riches and ancient artefacts, and uncover a magical orb, one of three pieces which make up the device known as the Triplex, also known as the Spheres of Tzek. Thanks to the sacrifice made by a priest of Nysa, the adventurers manage to escape the many magical defence systems of the ancient city, and return home.

Chapter 6: The Brotherhood of the Pine

4-7 May 2007, at Harmergreen

Back at Fort Winnofar, the adventurers deal with Keltoi warriors whose spirits have been corrupted and who march on even after death. A scroll is uncovered in a strange, dimensionally-shifting tomb, which hints at the true purpose of the Triplex, which has the power to shatter or re-make the land-bridge which once connected the Bladelands to the mainland. Meanwhile, a small group steal a valuable scroll from School Town, escalating hostilities between the two fiefs. A trial is held, but the inquisitor from School Town is found to be dealing with dark forces, and killed by the adventurers, making all-out war inevitable.

Chapter 7: War

June 2007, at Harmergreen

The war between the fiefs of Saltwash and School Town comes to a head. The Olican mages from School Town are discovered to be dealing with dark forces, and a small group from Fort Winnofar asassinate the archmage who is coordinating the attacks, turning the tide of the battle. Eventually, the School Towners are defeated.

Chapter 8: Forged in Battle

27-29 July 2007, at Harmergreen

Lord Montoya and his retinue arrive in the fief of Saltwash. An orc with extraordinary prowess in battle is discovered to have the second part of the Triplex embedded within him, and one of Lord Montoya's knights is blessed by the priests of Fort Winnofar in order that she might defeat the orc. After a mighty battle, the foulspawn are defeated, and the second part of the Triplex recovered. Unfortunately, due to the unwise actions of a few, it is rapidly lost again, falling into the hands of the Outsiders.

Chapter 9: Skull Port

2-4 November 2007, at The Tower

The adventurers from Fort Winnofar discover that the piece of the Triplex which they recently lost is due to be auctioned at a hive of scum and villainy known only as Skull Port, an entirely underground settlement frequented by pirates and murderers. They travel there in the hope of keeping this important item out of the wrong hands. Despite temporarily also loosing the piece of the artefact which they had uncovered in Amaru Tupac, ultimate they not only retrieve the part from the orc, but also defeat a powerful Outsider and recover the part of the Triplex given to it when they first arrived on the Bladelands, before its true value was realised. With all three pieces of the Triplex now safely recovered, the adventurers scatter them to secret locations, ensuring that they will never again fall into the hands of evil.

Read OOC review.... (on Rule7)