Throne of Shadows Overviews

[Thomo]

In an effort to try and keep something resembling a record of events that have so far occured, I'm going to post recaps and summaries here - as a bit of a quick reference guide.

[Thomo]

Prologue

The party was part of a caravan heading north from the town of Graven Ridge to the settlement of Hunter's Run, over the treacherous Greyspire Mountains. The journey, for the most part, was uneventful until on the final leg of the journey, the caravan was ambushed by Giblins.

Joining together for the first time in combat, the party managed to repel the monsters, losing a companion in the process (Haniel). Catching their breath after the fight, they were interupted by Garrion, the Caravan Master, as he informed them that the Goblins stole something of great importance.

The party pursued the goblins and managed to get lost in the wilderness, only to come across Wheedle, a diminutive goblin who had been tied to the back of a Dire Boar. In exchange for his life, Wheedle leads the party to the Goblin Caves and gives them important information.

The assault on the caverns begins, and Sal and Aelar manage to befriend and tame a Dire Boar called Buttercup, a veritable engine of porcine destruction. As they launched the assault on the caverns themselves, two more members joined the party (Cai and Harm).

After a bloody battle, they managed to unite the Goblins and Wheedle and incite a rebellion against the Hobgoblin overlords, clearing the way to Grak and his cronies. The final showdown was a titanic struggle, and one of the party was revealed as a shapeshifter, only to disappear before the dust settled.

Having bested Grak and installed Wheedle as the new King, the party returned to the caravan with the package, much to the relief of Garrion, and more questions than when the left. Their new companions joined them and they saw the caravan safely to the town of Hunter's Run.

Dramatis Personae
Garrion: Caravan Master
Wheedle: Goblin King

[Thomo]

ACT 1: Hunter's Run

Arriving at HUnter's Run, the party bid Garrion farewell, the gnome bard Nissa deciding to stay on with the Caravan. The rest of the party members then headed to the inn to rest, where they met a Sgt Tobin of the 5th Legion, part of the local garriosn. Tobin spent the night swapping stories with the party, in particular Aelar.

The next morning saw two messengers arrive, one carried a missive for Sal, while the other summoned the party to the barracks to meet Lt. Trake, commanding officer of the Legion garrison. Trake informs them that early that morning the body of Bartum, a local trader, was found in his shop, and it appeared that he was murdered. The party was asked to aid in the investigations, especially considering that Aelar was mentioned as the prime suspect.

The party uncovered something rather disturbing, that Bartum was a member of a Cult dedicated to bringing Orcus back to power, and a hard-fought battle with the ghostly remnants of Bartum's wife also revealed the identity of the shapechanger known as Dusk, who had been travelling with the party disguised as Evangeline.

After destroying the ghost, and uncovering the dark shrine, the party headed to Sal's parents place, just outside of Hunters Run, to join them in a high tea. Max, Sal's father, provided them with a map of the area and some information about recent happenings, and they set off to explore the settlement known as Shackles.

Half-way to Shackles the party was ambushed by some brigands, and after nearly succumbing to the arrows of the bandits, managed to drive them off. Revealing, in the process, that the leader of the bandits was a member of the same Cult as Bartum, but unfortunately his mind snapped before they could get any useful information out of him, other than a name: Karus.

The party decided not to continue to Shackles, and rather return to a place of safety to recover from their wounds, while Dusk and Aelar scouted the Standing Stones. As the two adventurers lay hidden, they watched as a meeting took place between several shadowy figures, before finally being discovered after most had left. They managed to capture their assailant, knocking him unconcious and returning him to Sal's parents place for questioning.

Dramatis Personae
Sgt Tobin: Sgt of the 5th Legion, Hunters Run Garrison (Human)
Lt. Trake: CO of the 5th Legion, Hunter's Run Garrison (Human)
Brother Lowenstein: Missing priest of the Raven Queen (Human)
Brother Aaron: Priest of Ioun (Human)
Father Pieter: Warrior Priest of Pelor (Human)
Max: Sal's Dad (Minotaur)
Bartum: Murdered trader and member of a cult of Orcus (Human)
Karus: Unknown member of Cult of Orcus (Unknown Race)
Annon: Unknown member of Cult of Orcus. Once a priest of the Raven Queen
Lucias: Unknown member of Cult of Orcus (Unknown Race)