Adventure 3. The Kidnapping and the pursuit

The nights and days passed without incident. A work crew arrived to remove the Dragon Head and improve the building. During this week howling wolves could be heard at night.

One evening the adventurers met a character with a large dog. His name was Darragorn. An interesting man who spent most of time hunting they learnt. He made income from exotic furs and explained his dislike for towns and cities and prefers life in the outdoors. He was staying the night at the Inn.

The next morning the Party was awoken very early. The went to the Inn and found a scene of panic and shock. A staff member was injured and bleeding. They found out that part of the Inn compound had been raided by Goblins with some riding large Wolves. The Goblins fled into a forest but had abducted some of the workers and even one of Larry's younger sons. 

Darragorn offered himself as a tracker to help find the abducted people. The party did not hesitate in offering the chance to help as well.

They soon set of in pursuit through the forest with Darragorn and his Dog named Bill leading the way. They came to a large clearing that contained an ancient stone circle with gigantic trees at its centre. Goblins had been hiding behind the stones and showered the group with poorly aimed arrows. The morning sunlight affected their vision. A large fight took place and it was then that the group discovered that Bill the dog was in fact a Blink Dog. A dog who could magically teleport short distances. He ripped out many Goblin throats and as they all fought they also found themselves attacked from behind. Two large Dire-Wolves with goblin riders leapt from the trail they had just come from.

This ambush started to look rather grim for the group but something unexpected happened. Emerging from the three enormous trees that occupied the centre of the Stone Circle was what looked like Tree people of varying size (Dryads and Tree Ents). These creatures grabbed the Goblins from behind and dragged them towards the giant trees that now had small openings appearing. The Goblins met a shocking end as they were shoved into the holes that closed on them silencing their screams. The group managed to wound a Dire Wolf as it fled around the stone circle to make an exit on the other side.

After narrowly avoiding being killed by the weight of so many Goblins in the ambush the party recovered aided by a Cure Light Wounds spell from the Cleric and a Potion of Healing. The pursuit continued with Darragorn and Bill easily picking up the trail again.
The forest ended at an old wooden, rope suspended bridge. This spanned a rocky cliff sided gorge with a small creek at it's centre. At the opposite side of the bridge Goblins laughed at the pursuers and cut the ropes that supported the bridge.

The group had no choice but to descend the cliff using ropes they had with them. Once at the bottom the Thief skilfully climbed halfway up the other side and found himself on a flat area. This small area however was occupied by a mangy group of Kobolds. As they closed in the Thief thought they looked severely underfed even though it was the first encounter with Kobolds. He threw them some rations and they stopped and leapt on the food. Using the Dwarfs understanding of the Kobold language the party found out that the Kobolds had been deprived of food due to the very same Goblins they were pursuing. After a discussion the Kobolds led the party to their cave on the ledge which had a tunnel that took them to the surface not far from the place they last saw the Goblins. The pursuit continued. The landscape began to rise and the trees became less.

The next encounter was when the group became alerted to a Goblin lookout who was asleep snoring loudly. Drunk on stolen beer they captured him easily. He revealed another ambush lay ahead. It was a cautious measure in case the party found some way to follow despite the broken bridge. They decided to ambush the ambush. A vicious fight took place and among the partially drunk Goblins was two brutal large Bug-Bears.

The captured Goblin pleaded for his life and said he would show the party a hidden entrance to the tribes dungeon home. This turned out to be truthful. Darragorn said "I don't do Dungeons and neither does Bill." So he opted to stay at the entrance with Bill and the captured Goblin.

They entered the Dungeon and came across a room with many sleeping Dire-Wolves and a Bug-Bear. The Wizard used her SLEEP spell as it was clear they thought they would not win if it came to a a fight. They dispatched them all and continued to explore and search the Dungeon. They came across a disgusting Goblin kitchen which had a chained Kobold. They freed the Kobold who fled rather quickly. They came across another Kobold slave being whipped in a cave with the Goblins water supply.
They eventually found the hostages and freed them. In the process they faced the Goblin chief and killed him. A search revealed two strange scroll cases and a red robe with a small black cloth. The Cleric had to be carried out by them as he had taken a brutal amount of injuries. He was lucky to survive fighting with the Goblin Chief and his Bug-Bear companions.

When they reunited with Darragorn he told them he came under attack by a small group of Goblins while they were in the Dungeon. Between him and Bill they managed to kill them all along with the captured Goblin.
Darragorn led them away to a road and they managed to negotiate a ride with a travelling merchant from a faraway land for some of the return journey.

Without further incident everyone was reunited at the Inn. Larry was incredibly grateful and offered to further extend the hospitality of the Inn to the party. 

2nd Adventure

The party could not find any opportunities for the type of adventure they sought at the Village. They did notice an individual wearing a Red Robe stop and observe them momentarily but being new to the area that was not considered unusual.
They returned to the Inn. Larry who was pleased with the way the Cellar was made usable asked the group to consider investigating one of his old accommodation buildings. It had been abandoned due to lack of business and become run down. With no other prospects the party accepted. The local Temple of the Order of the Flame sent a Cleric to join them.

Once they made entry the group decided to clear the basement first. The two level building had a small cellar that led to additional natural caves. Over time animals must have connected these caves and Giant Centipedes and Spiders had to be killed.

When they returned to the ground floor they discovered Bandits had forced entry. The Bandits seemed to be searching the rooms for anything of value. A confrontation occurred as the Bandits had no way out and a lethal fight took place. All the Bandits met their end but searching them gained the group a good amount of Jewellery. They found upon the Bandits belongings a Red Robe.

The upper floor was cleared of critters and the occasional aggressive Skeleton. When the party began to exit a room they saw an incredible site. Moving across a hallway was a magnificently armoured warrior. Much like a knight but the armour appeared as gold. He laughed, and waved at them and walked into a room they had not explored. When the party investigated that room they could not find the Golden Knight. He had vanished. However what they did find was incredible and bewildering. The room contained a freshly severed head of a Black Dragon. The head itself was too big to fit through the small window or the door. Peculiar indeed.

The group shared some of the Jewellery with Larry the Inn keeper as a thank you. Larry was incredibly grateful for not only making the building usable again but he recognised a piece of Jewellery as a family heirloom thought lost making him further grateful.
On the topic of the Dragons head in the room Larry plans to remove a wall and part of the roof to extract it. Afterwards it may be used as a type of tourist attraction within his humble Inn.

Larry offered offered further extension to accommodation for the adventurers. They could share rooms of their choosing in the freshly cleared building. Basic for now and in need of renovation the group agreed to at least have a week of recovery.

First Adventure

The group of ambitious young and naive characters each found themselves in the Elmore Inn. They had been given instructions to seek others on the same quest. The group that agreed to seek adventure risk their lives for glory and gold consisted of an Elf, a strong Dwarf, a Thief, a young Magic-User and, a Cleric with strong convictions on what is right or wrong in life.
They learned that this Inn is extremely run down and impoverished. Near the Inn is the frontier Village named Kar-Em. The owner of the Inn, Larry Elmore asked for assistance in investigating one of his cellars. He has stopped using the cellar and locked the door as strange glowing lights appeared under the door. He banned all staff from that area of the extensive Inn compound.
The Cleric insisted that they should not refuse this request for help. They accepted the proposal that included a weeks accommodation in the dirty Inn.

Inside the cellar they discovered cave tunnels that led to larger caves. They learnt the lights came from a cave insect with glowing gem like glands. After killing it they found they could be used the still glowing gem like glands as illumination as they explored. They faced Giant Rats and animated skeletons that fell from the ceiling. It appeared to be the underside of a small ancient graveyard in at least one cave. Unfortunately the Cleric lost his life in combat trying his best to protect others.

The Clerics body was taken to a temple in the nearby village and it was there that in return as thanks for the respect they showed the Cleric that the temple elders identified two Potions of Healing they had found in the cellar in a small hidden room.

They returned to the Inn to recover from the first ordeal as a new group feeling a little bonded by the shared experiences.

Introduction

The Great High Council had met and considered the question of the fate of Emmkarland.

For more than 500 years the land had been a no-mans land. After the great and long wars that long since extinct nations fought in Emmkarland it seemed to have a curse descended upon it. No true victor emerged from the war and no Nation claimed the land for their own and it was for the most part ignored since then. Thought to be of little value or just not possible to occupy, no nation made a claim.

In more recent times though The Great High Council in its wisdom established a single city in Emmkarland. The City of Emm-Kar is ruled by it's own Council under instruction from the Great High Council. Beyond the city small towns and villages are slowly starting to spread.

The Great High Council is made up of the wise and powerful rulers of a variety of Nations and Kingdoms. Elf, Dwarf, Human, Halfling from far and distant lands.
They have now decreed that after the slow rise to success of The City of Emm-Kar that greater Emmkarland is now open for exploration and adventure. It would be in the interest of all for Emmkarland to not only be re-discovered but occupied. Various Nations have found many individuals to Teleport to the territory to build fortune and fame for themselves. Starting with the young and bold of heart they deem the land as an opportunity for them to prosper or perish. It is also their wish they forge alliances with the people of many nations so no one nation can lay claim to this new re-discovered land. Let the fates roll the dice as to what the future holds.

You have been selected. Now please step into the Portal as the Wise Ones who muster the powers of magic send you on your way.