Mirte: A Recent Timeline of Events

I will soon be posting live recordings of play with my two sons in our Tenebrous campaign.  Just to set things up, here is a very brief historical timeline of what has happened since we started the campaign about a year ago.  By the way, I define a "campaign" as a game world, the goings-on within it and the various characters that tell their story through it.  I don't use the modern linear definition of campaign as a single character and his personal journey from zero to hero like it has come to mean today.  Another advantage of running worlds using the Lovecraftian method is that my campaign is mutually exclusive from the characters in it.

Note that I have interpreted Mirte as using Earth's Gregorian calendar.  We still do not know what happened exactly 1623 years ago, and very little about much of the history between then and now, as none of the characters have attempted to investigate it yet.

Chapter I: The Kobold Invasion: 

May 2, 1623 to May 31, 1623

• Alixe Boudemonte is born and abandoned at Cloudwood Castle under the tutelage and care of Ardinar.  Nothing is known of his parents, why the castle is left empty, or why he was abandoned.
• At age 15, the castle is besieged by a dark army of Kobolds from the west.  Alixe is led through a secret underground passageway, and ends up at the village of Longroad where he briefly meets up with Amana, the female Half-Elf Ranger who flies southward to warn the King.  Alixe also meets up with Caseg the thief who vows to accompany him southward.
• Accompanied by the Ranger, Alixe descends into the catacombs beneath the church and retrieves an ancient, but partial, document of key historical events as well as a crystalline necklace said to hold the power to defeat the evil beyond Stoneholt.
• The people of Longroad are forced to flee southward as the Kobold army advances from the forest in the north.  During the flight southward, a band of thieves steal the historical document and flee to the eastern moorland.
• Alixe descends into an underground bridge complex, defeats a baby black dragon and pulls a lever disabling the bridge which causes a large bulk of the Kobolds to be killed along the southern path.
• Alixe and Caseg reach the lake and are helped by the Elves who fire upon the invasion force and lead them across to the Faery Vale.
• The leader of the elves explains that they are weakening and that the Rainbow Stone is the key to protecting the forest from the invaders.  Alixe and Caseg are tasked to retrieve the stone, lost in the depths of the Twilight Tower to the west.  They are accompanied by three Elven fighters, Starflec, Moonleaf, and Boarlyn.
• While travelling through the forest, Alixe's company finds a small child who warns them of the witch living in the ruins of the tower and joins them as their guide.
• Alixe and his company (the boy stays atop) descend deep into the ruins of the tower, finding a wet, and muddy cave full of dead and decaying beast filth.  Starflec and Moonleaf slip into a mucky hole in the ground where they cannot be retrieved.  
• While crossing an underground bridge, Alixe and Caseg descend using a rope, to the bottom, where they at last, find the Rainbow Stone and escape the clutches of an animated statue that protects the Stone.  Alixe finds an enchanted sword, "Magebane", and Caseg finds a magical dagger, "Giant Needler".
• Coming out of a separate entryway, they find the witch who has already killed the last elf companion, Boarlyn.  Alixe and Caseg do battle with the witch, slaying her.  The boy arrives, revealing himself to be a demon sent to spy on them from the witch who is also eventually killed by the companions.
• The two survivors return to the Elf King. Golden Leaf, who takes the Rainbow Stone and reveals himself to have become a servant of evil and flees into the night with the Stone.
• The Elves, along with Alixe and Caseg ,are forced to abandon their forest home and flee south toward Stony Deep.   The creatures of darkness take up residence in the forest and do not pursue.
• The people of Stony Deep, with deep prejudices against the Elves, block their entry to the city.  The refugees are forced to camp outside the gates.
• Alixe petitions the lords of Stony Deep to allow the Elves entry, and are promised to do so, but are contracted first to eliminate the source of evil from the Crypts of Adrar to the south first.
• Alixe and Caseg descend into the crypts and face down terrible undead creatures.  Entering a strange room, Alixe sees a great pile of treasure sitting in the center.  Consumed by his lust for gold, Alixe rushes forward and triggers a trapdoor trap where he falls 30 feet onto poisoned spikes and perishes.
• Unable to retrieve his friend's body, Caseg continues onward and finds a glowing orb of darkness, a necromancer crystal being used to awaken the dead, guarded by a great Orc.  The two do battle, but the Orc is too powerful and finally runs Caseg through by the tip of a giant spear.
• When the adventurers are not heard from again, the King orders the crypts sealed with a great slab of stone, and the Elves, denied entry, are forced to journey onward to the west.
• Thus ends the adventures of Alixe Boudemonte.

Chapter II

July 24 to August 2nd, 1623

• Hunter George, a first year tenderfoot of the Stony Deep Fighters Guild meets up with Reder Windsalt Bowe, an eccentric, but scholarly duelist at the Screaming Elf Alehouse.  Bowe is the son of a wealthy family of nobles in the city and he has found a clue from his studies which lead him to believe he has found the location of the lost Book of Shoth somewhere in the Wizards Tower.
• Hunter joins up with Reder and the two sneak into the tower complex discovering a trifecta of alters, each holding a glowing Orb.  One of the altars is empty.  They find a back room closet with a trapdoor leading underground into the dark catacombs of Stony Deep.
• In the catacombs they discover very old clerical altars and some mysterious holes in the walls, ranging between 6 to 12 inches in diameter.
• Hunter and Reder are attacked by large groups of small, furry creatures known as mugwumps by the wizards, with glowing yellow eyes and sharp teeth.  They are dispatched quite easily for a while, but they seem to swarm with great tenacity.
• While outnumbered and backed into a corner, a stranger arrives out of the darkness and fights with incredible skill.  He calls himself Themp Khul, a dark elf originating from far beneath the city.  His history is mostly unknown, but he promises to help Hunter and Reder.
• The three continue on in the vast subterranean complex, finally coming upon a split passageway  one leading through a man-made stone-working, and the other leading through a narrow cave passageway  The party chooses the latter course and comes upon an entry way where the lost book is found at last.
• The book of Shoth is found along with a ring of water walking for Themp, and a magical cloak of polymorph which Hunter takes for himself, and the party heads out the way they came.
• The party is ambushed by a ghoul and nearly defeated.  All are paralyzed  except for Themp, who manages to drag the two out by himself while distracting the ghoul.
• Reder instructs Themp to take them to the sage, Hecten, a family friend and mentor who will know what to do with the book.  Once there, the sage takes them in and nurses them back to health.  He also discovers the true powers of the book, but needs an amulet of far-seeing to scry the full text.
• Hecten sends the now-healed, party on a quest to retrieve a scrying amulet in the Dark Tunnels of Sorrow just east of town.
• The Dark Tunnels are apparently infested with bats, but nothing more dangerous, until they find a dug out pit, with some kind of humanoid creature stuck in the bottom of it.  Hunter decides not to let the creature out nor disturb it.
• The party finds a decrepit old horse tied-up and abandoned near a pile of bones.  The bones contain a story of a couple miners who came into the cave earlier and discovered the amulet.  The man describes his partner as going insane and "changing" somehow and he begins to worry for his life.  Among the corpse, a finely-wrought dagger is found by Themp which he keeps for himself.
• Plodding deeper into the cave, the party discovers a human-like beast with pale white skin, bulging white eyes, and white hair come lumbering toward them ready to attack.
• The party battles the creature, but its tremendous strength is too much to overcome.  Reder jumps down from a ledge above to deliver a killing blow, but is caught by the beasts great forearm first, and his head is knocked clean from his body ending his life.  Themp finds an opening in this instant and slashes the beast through the heart.
• Whilst mourning their loss of Reder, the party at-last finds the amulet of far-seeing and makes way back to Hecten with the old horse in tow.
• With the loss of Reder, the party's friendship with Hecten doesn't last long.  After taking the amulet, he orders Hunter and Themp to leave.  Hunter angrily refuses and the guards are called.  A brief battle takes place and Hunter and Themp flee into the night, where they end up staying in a back room at the Screaming Elf Tavern.  Hunter pays for a weeks worth of lodging and stabling for their new (old) horse while they lick their wounds.
• While staying at the tavern, three cloaked strangers arrive asking for Hunter's assistance.  They say that they are dragon tamers from the north and have a pet dragon in need of protection.  If Hunter travels to their dragon cave and gives protection to the beast for one week, they promise to pay "handsomely".  Hunter accepts.
• While travelling north, Hunter becomes lost in a great storm.  He finds a decrepit old tower, but fears to stay there and continues onward.  He nearly freezes to death during the night, finding poor shelter under a tree, and trudges forward in the morning.  He at last comes upon a village which he soon discovers is the one he left the day before, Stony Deep.  He had unwittingly traveled in a complete circle.
• Back at the Alehouse, tired and depressed, he is approached by a wealthy noble who overhears his story of poor luck during the night and the tower.  The man tells Hunter that the tower is haunted and bets him 1,000 gold pieces that he cannot stay in the tower for just one night.  With money in desperate need, Hunter accepts and he and Themp set out the next day.
• While leaving town, they run into a young girl, Amelia , a 15 year old fledgling member of the Thieve's Guild who has been tasked to take a scroll far to the barbaric north-lands.  Afraid to go alone, she joins up with Hunter and promises to help him stay the night in the tower if they accompany her north afterward.  Hunter accepts the mission.
• Hunter, Themp, and Amelia enter the haunted tower and Hunter immediately gets separated from the party after falling down a pit.
• The party returns to the city of Stony Deep to lick their wounds.
• Amelia informs the party that she must now accompany the party to Pasimar on a long trip to deliver the scroll.
• The party sets out on their journey and stays the night at Lionlin's Inn.
• They are awakened in the middle of the night to a terrible scream.  Along with the Innkeeper, they investigate a well in the basement of the Inn where the screams emanated.

Chapter III

August 2nd, 1623 to ... 

• Aug 2nd: Companions, Human Demon Hunter, Skipper Poosenberry and Fey Elf, Faren Amelinfer travel together to the northern borderland and arrive at a human keep.   
• Aug 3rd: The party is asked by the Castellan for help in dealing with local problems.  Their first task is to hunt down and kill an "old wizard" in the north forest.
• Aug 4th: They are ambushed by a puma, which they barely escape from.  An old hermit tells them to stay away.
• Aug 5th: The hermit's puma tracks the party down, resting at camp nearby, and attacks.  Skipper breaks his crossbow, but Faren manages to kill the puma by leaping on top of it from a tree branch.
• Aug 6th: The Faren uses the puma skin as a disguise to distract the hermit while Skipper casts poisons food which kills the hermit.
• Aug 6th: The party is congratulated by the Castellan for their success and asks them to track and kill an ogre in the caves to the north that has been harrassing his patrols.  The blacksmith's young apprentice, "Wort" who is an exceptional warrior with a massive frame, joins the party.
• Aug 7th: The party rents an apartment to rest.
• Aug 10th:  The party arrives at the caves.
• Aug 11th: The party entangles, then slays the ogre in his cave.  They kill a few goblins and drive off the rest by burning their trap room above.  The party stays the night in a room with some female goblins.
• Aug 12th: The party continues their slaughter of goblins throughout the caves, ambushing and tricking the dumb creatures into poor tactics.
• Aug 13th:  The party is awoken from sleep by a patrol of 3 hobgoblin warriors.  They barricade themselves in a room and are able to kill them.  The party find a large hobgoblin armory.  Faren finds a +2 elf scimitar, elven chain and an eagle helmet.  Skipper acquires a double shot light crossbow, spiked leather armor, and a crimson cloak.   Wort equips a masterwork longsword, platemail, a white/round shield, and a minotaur helmet.  The party rests here for the night.
• Aug 14th: The party finds a secret door and is ambushed by a party of 6 hobgoblin warriors and the hobgoblin chief.  The party slays them all including the leader.  They ransack the hobgoblin's room, taking the treasure, including a poison potion..  The remaining goblins form peace pact with the heroes and lead them out of the caves.
• Aug 14th:  The party receives a reward from the Castellan and they level up.  The party has their loot inspected by the blacksmith.  The blacksmith finds that the poison potion is from the extremely rare "Kraken" spider, a monstrosity found deep below the earth.  The poison can melt flesh like acid and the blacksmith accepts 1000 gold to reforge Faren's scimitar with the poison as an enchantment.  The party must wait one week to finish the new weapon.
• Aug 16th:  Skipper sets out with Wort to destroy the bandit threat south of the keep.  They are ambushed by a lone bandit archer which they kill.  The party attacks the village, slaying 9 more bandits including a lieutenant, two retreat into a cabin.  They approach the cabin and the bandit leader comes out, a level 2 fighter wielding a massive spear.  Skipper casts Sanctuary and Chant while Wort wrestles the bandit to the ground.  Wort finally slays the bandit leader but not after sustaining heavy wounds.  The other wounded bandits flee.  The party returns to the keep, selling beaver furs, keeping three horses and selling the rest.