The Republic of Darokin
After the destruction of the Immortal artifact which had come to be known as Skarda's Mirror and having foiled the treachery of the crazed wizard himself, the party were invited to remain Duke Stefan's guests at his hunting villa in the Marilinev estate of south-western Karameikos.Returning to Specularum a short while later, the characters spent a while running their inn (for a change, rather than leaving it to the hired help!). During this period a familiar face appeared in the city - Lana's father, Terlon Budanter. The enterprising sea merchant was journeying with a companion Davon, himself a wealthy trader, to the Republic of Darokin, a wealthy land of merchants and diplomats to the north of Karameikos. The companions agreed to accompany Terlon on his journey, and would act as his escorts as far as the city of Selenica.
The caravan of around thirty wagons left Specularum in late Svifttmont with the party (including Karnus' brother-in-law) in tow. They followed the Duke's Road north through the hobgoblin-infested Black Peaks, before descending into the more settled lands of Darokin beyond. Before long, on 6th Eirmont (amid local Harvest Festival celebrations) the party reached Selenica, the Republic's second largest city. Here they encountered the cleric Phoenix Tremontaine, a follower of the Sun-Immortal Ixion who was known to wield an enchanted mace. After a period of sight-seeing the companions took their leave of Terlon and Davon and set out on the road once more. They travelled west, passing through the towns of Nemiston, Halfway, and Dolos, the latter being reputed throughout the land for its warm welcome and hospitable inhabitants. Nemiston, on the other hand, was known to be home to more frosty individuals.
On the road to Dolos the party was set upon by a pack of displacer beasts, rumoured to have escaped from a glade of supposedly "bad" magic known as Dragontree. The existence of this magical phenomenon was confirmed by a troop of guards, whom the party assisted in pacifying the displacer beasts. Having seen little true adventure in this land, it was agreed that the party would investigate whatever magic was causing monsters to appear out of thin air.
Upon entering Dragontree the heroes discovered a portal - a tear in the fabric of space - from which emerged a ten-headed hydra. The party fought hard to defend themselves against the monster but suffered heavy casualties, most notably Threy and Vasily but also Whiskers who, during an uncharacteristically enthusiastic moment, was savaged by one of the hydra's snakelike heads. The giant ferret was saved from death by the healing power of a passing druidess, who extended her thanks to the party for their part in fighting the glade's evil magic.
Ready to depart, the party pressed on and finally reached Darokin City. The companions headed firstly to the world-famous market, where Karnus purchased a set of magical robes which would resist any stain or splash of liquid. While in the marketplace a careless trader loosed a rust monster, and it was only through quick teamwork that Drewen and Lana were able to capture the beast without harm being caused to the monster or anyone else.
Vasily befriended a Traladaran adventurer named Nicolai and his halfling companions Sass and Bob. The trio claimed to have been doublecrossed by an evil dwarf, who murdered a member of their party to steal their shares of a dragon's hoard. The two parties decided to join forces to bring the treacherous dwarf to justice, and to get back the treasure which had been taken - a pouch of valuable gems. Through use of Karnus' crystal ball the murderer was tracked to a riverside tavern and the plot thickened.
After discussion it became clear that the dwarf (known as Sourbeard) would not relinquish the dragon's gems and so a standoff ensued. When a guard patrol was summoned to arrest the murderous dwarf, he downed a potion of human control and fled through the crowd of zombies he had created. Karnus used magic to take to the sky and pursued the dwarf relentlessly, bombarding him with multiple attacks of lightning and fire, however none of these were even slowed the murderer. Sourbeard was seen diving into the depths of the Streel River, and did not appear to resurface.
Despite having failed to apprehend the criminal, the heroes were rewarded for their efforts through the gift of Sourbeard's magical armour. Drewen already owned his own suit of magical plate (from the magical dungeon at Makrast); since this offering was of no practical use to any the others it was traded with wizards in the City Market for a Wand of Secret Door Detection.
The party subsequently returned to Selenica where Lana was asked by her father to spend time with his business associates, thus resulting in her retirement from adventuring for a period. (This was a contrived absence since I was at university and unable to play my PC! The game nevertheless progressed, with Lana being NPC'd by Martin for periods where she rejoined her companions.)
During this time the four remaining companions came under attack by orcish raiders from the north. A multitude of similar recent events had led the Darokinian government to offer 100,000 Daros to any party willing to venture into the wilderness of the Broken Lands and obliterate a major humanoid settlement. Though the party were tempted by the vast amount of money on offer, the task would undoubtled be highly dangerous. Thus after a brief expedition to sate Vasily and Drewen's curiosities, the party gave in to their feelings of homesickness and returned to Specularum to resume running their Inn for a short while.
Read our next adventure - The Quest to the Altan Tepes