Three worthy adventurers fly east to Fanetide. Among their number are these: Corvak - A neophyte cleric dispatched by Northshire Abbey to meet with Fanetide's minister of the Light, Ordin Krell. Shade - A fledgeling hedge wizard's apprentice hailing from the Brightwood. Not much is known of his origins, but he makes no secret that adventure and fortune be his ultimate end. Halberad - A ranger of the Stranglethorn order who patrol the borderlands of Brightwood and the Stranglethorn Vale. He has come to Fanetide to investigate the reports of trollish and murloc incursions into human settlements. The party was taken to the edge of the swamps by a merchant caravan that dared not cross into the fen, as afflicted as it is by demihuman violence. It doesn't take long for this small band to be beset upon by a small band of murlocs! The newcomers are able to beat back the creatures until a patrol of Faneguard happens upon the scenes and assists in driving the assailants into the murky fog from whence they came. The guard captain, Jorn, accompanies the exhausted newcomers to the Temple where they are met with Ordin and his apprentice, Maxwell. The pair brief the group and bring them up to speed on the sieges the village has had to endure. Ordin charges the trio with discovering what has whipped the trolls into a frenzy and caused them to put settlements to the flame. To this end Ordin provides the adventurers with a nice stipend, which they spend on recruiting henchmen at the Biting Bitters tavern: Helena - A human warrior found amassing a heap of coin in friendly armwrestling competition with the locals at the Bitters. Helena has come from Westfall seeking an outlet for her martial prowess in the lethal swamp. Jeronimo - A gnome dispatched by the Grand Tinkerer's Council in Gnomeregan on a mission he will not speak too much on. His original party was dispatched en route to the swamp, and he's looking to accompany stalwart souls into the murk... for the right price. Abet - A novitiate of the Academy of Arcane Arts and Sciences and consummate coward. He accompanied his master into the swamp searching for the dragon's hoard, but fell ill when his master's party departed for Blackscale keep. It has been more than a week since the group set forth, and Abet agrees to accompany the band for a nominal fee. The next day the party sets out for Blackscale Keep at first light using a rented rowboat. They arrive at the keep to no fanfare, and scale the wall using a grappling hook and rope. After doing a little preliminary exploration, the group rests in the keep's library...
09/21/2025
A trap door is discovered while recovering in the library. Two intrepid warriors, Matilda and Louis, are bound behind a crude bamboo cage. The duo were party of a larger band that accompanied Abet's master into the keep. It wasn't long before the group was ambushed by trolls in the main keep. Every day a new captive would be taken from their cells, never to return. The captives are eager to mete out revenge, and tell the adventurers of a secret tunnel by the riverbank that leads directly under the keep... Shortly after coming to a consensus to storm the keep, a small contingent of murlocs enter the library carrying buckets of offal to feed the prisoners. Caught off guard, the murlocs quickly act to subdue the newcomers. The beasts are defeated, but not before Helena takes a spear to the skull and perishes. The secret tunnel is quickly found and followed to the cellar, where wyrd chants are heard in the dim candlelight ahead. Thinking quickly Veronica the thief and Jeronimo scout ahead to get a lay of the land. The basement was once the wine cellar for the great keep, and so huge racks of spirits and their kegs ran the length of the walls. The band pulled down the racks with grappling hooks, dispatching the majority of the assembled murlocs in the chamber. The rest were quickly dispatched. Among the spoils was found a green dragonscale with unknown runes etched on it's face, a green phial of some indeterminable ichor, and a a few other interesting trinkets...
10/19/2025
The adventurers waste no time in collecting the spoils from the murlocs and the dark altar. A brief interrogation is conducted on the surviving murloc , Blu'gah, who says only that the murlocs are looking for an "aspect" of the great dragon, Eclipse. A quick knock to the noggin subdues the murloc, and the party makes their way to the upper levels of the keep. Ascending the stairway into the keep proper, the band enters a great hall which the demihumans have been using as a mustering point - and some still remain! Shade makes short work of them with a sleep spell, and the intrepid band makes a beeline for the river shore and their canoes. A bargain is struck with Abet and Jeronimo to lead the pack animals to town through the swampland while the group heads back to Fanetide by boat. When they arrive, they find the town had just been under siege! The trolls were in full retreat, but not by any action of the town. The party heads straight for Ordin and Maxwell, who are tending to the wounded and the dying. The clerics have no idea why the trolls broke the siege, but they waste no time in debriefing the party. In a moment of hesitation, Halberad neglects mentioning the dragon scale that was recovered, and only recounts the tale of their infiltration and the breaking of the dark ritual. Troubled, Ordin requests the adventurers return to the temple at first light for further instruction.
10/26/2025
The group meets with Ordin after morning service. The cleric is presented with the cloak and phial of green ooze, which Ordin identifies as a makeshift cloak fashioned from the banner of the Blackscale Baron, and a vial of deadly green slime. Ordin tasks the party with continuing to explore the swamp and gather more information on the cause of the incursions. With this Ordin returns to his cell. The party is still ill at ease around Ordin. Before departing, Corvak recites the incantation on a scroll of Detect Evil, which reveals to the cleric a small, blood-red cloud within the confines of the cell where the elder priest had repaired. Rallied by Halberad, the group storms into Ordin's cell and finds him poring over a scroll at his modest desk. Ordin, choosing to exercise patience with the adventurers, explains that he's translating a scroll recovered from a troll witch doctor after a skirmish deep in the swamp. From time to time, the priest explains, dark and malignant energies may manifest while pouring over such evil scripts. Ordin, being a man of vast experience and mental fortitude, is able to insulate himself against such evil. Finding nothing else to press Ordin on, the party moves to the Biting Bitters to gather more information from the townsfolk. Everyone in the town trusts Ordin and Maxwell with their lives, it seems. They also learn of a lone ranger deep in the swamp known only as Kestra, which means "The Whisper" in Thalasian. The rest of the day is spent with Halberad casing the temple while the others assist Maxwell and Ordin in their day to day activities. Halberad spies a small cubby port underneath the priest's cell while padding underneath the stilted temple. Sneaking into the cell while the clergymen are away reveals a hidden compartment under the rug, wherein a dusty book-sized imprint remains. Ordin is once again confronted by the group the next day, only to be rebuked by the priest. Losing his temper, he explains the compartment is necessary for storing the ornate liturgy book because previous adventurers have attempted to steal it in the past. The party is slowly losing his trust, and he admonishes them to seek the evil in the swamp, for there is none in town. Thoroughly rebuked, the party makes preparations to venture into the swamp once more...
11/22/2025
Today's first order of business is the freeing of the murloc captive Blu'gah! The creature is trussed up, dragged into the swamp, and fed the green ooze, which makes short work of the fishmonster. With that important business out of the way, the party sets out for the ruins of Blackmarsh. Just a few miles outside of the village, the party encounters a duo of mounted Faneguard. These two were part of a much larger party that attempted to spy on the trolls who had taken up residence in the ruined village, and seemed to be antagonistic toward the Darkfang. Troll spears and axes cut all but two down before they could make it into the village, however. With no small amount of persuasion, the Faneguard agree to join the party in making contact with the trolls. It is decided that Corvak, Louis, and Jeronimo, will approach the village on horseback and present themselves to the trolls. Though a few spears are lobbed at our heroes, no damage is done, and a small trollish delegation meets them at the town gate. The adventurers are brought before the village chief, Jer'ak, where they parlay. This trolls of this village are rebel Darkfang who wish to return to Zul'Gurub. In order to do so, however, they know they must slay the chief Zul'Tal and his witch doctor S'Thar and bring their heads to the emperor as reparations for the wrongs done against the empire. The trolls are too few in number to assist with any assault, but promise to quit the swamp at once if the party brings the rebels the heads. The group is given free run of the village to find whatever supplies may aid them in their quest. The party splits into groups. Much gold and baubles are found. In an incident of note, Halberad and Abet search a ruined and overgrown barn. Inside, the duo find a large locked chest, no doubt filled with riches and plunder aplenty. Before they can break the lock however, they are ambushed but a mighty two-headed giant! Abet is embedded into the dirt by the giant, who wields a tree trunk as a club. Halberad barely escapes with his life, raising the alarm. The trolls are able to defeat the giant, which was able to cast potent spells. A number of sentries were killed in the attempt. Returning to the locked chest, the party finds a nice amount of loot and a pair of ornate slippers, which Shade wastes no time in donning. The mage notices nothing at first, but quickly he is overcome by an urge to move his feet and begins doing an elaborate one-man waltz around the desolate barn. A troll witch doctor takes pity on the poor mage and dispels the slipper curse - at least for now. The party rests, and at first light they make their way to the northern mountains, accompanied by a troll guide...
12/05/2025
The party makes camp under a rocky outcropping at the foot of the mountain. The guide shows the group how to reach the cleft in the mountain where the Darkfang and Eclipse have made their lair, and departs in the night. Louis and Matilda tie their beasts of burden down under the outcropping and the group proceeds to the cleft. They find the foot of the mountain dotted with rocky cairns, each with a horrid patina of dried blood and viscera. Not too far off to the right is a waterfall which barely obscures what looks to be a large cave mouth. It is too treacherous to reach on foot, so the party decides to ascend the wicked switchbacks to the small cleft just beyond the cairns. Jeronimo and Veronica silently pad through the stones, finding that a group of giant frogs have taken a liking to the vittles and are concealing themselves among the stones. Taking the advantage, the group slaughters a few of the surprised reptiles and sends the rest scattering into the foothills. The group ascends the narrow switchback and avoids a nasty trap set by the trolls which would have triggered an avalanche, flattening the poor souls on the terraces below. The thieves spy four trolls in the main chamber within the cleft. Corvak blesses the party, and they storm the cleft! Shade the Unseen, still reeling from the curse of the dancing shoes, trips and falls amid the trolls. Before they can cleave the poor mageling, Louis charges in and inserts himself between Shade and the savages. After avoiding a death by inches himself, Louis and the other warriors dispatch the trolls without raising too much of a ruckus, and secure the main chamber. After collecting themselves, Corvak heads to a small chamber which was secured with a bone-lattice. Inside they find a festering pile of bodies, and a very frightened and malnourished goblin trussed up atop it. The party reluctantly frees the goblin, who introduces himself as Ugrin, the son of a mighty trade baron from his home isle of Kezan. He promises to compensate the party appropriately if they escort him to safety. He's not thrilled when the group informs him that they still intend to press further into the caverns, but it's safer than trying to navigate the swamps on their own. The group returns to the main cavern and decides which tunnel they should take next...
12/13/2025
New allies are met, the troll hold on the murlocs is broken, and a strange and massive battle axe is found...
01/18/2026