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Earthsunder background and timeline - Labyrinthe Forum
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> Earthsunder background and timeline
Orlock
post Mar 6 2018, 04:33 PM
Post #1


Mercenary
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Group: Members
Posts: 1,051
Joined: 1-July 14
From: Preseli, North Pembrokeshire
Member No.: 3,807



ᛖᚫᚱᛄᛋᚢᚾᛗᛖᚱ ᛖᚫᚱᛄᛋᚢᚾᛗᛖᚱ ᛖᚫᚱᛄᛋᚢᚾᛗᛖᚱ

(You find a heavy leather bound book containing many pages written out in the dwarfish)

Introduction

The contents of this journal is a record of the Earthsunder clan as I know it with a synopsis of our trials and tribulations in date order. I have recorded this for the benefit of future Earthsunder clan’s men and women and aspiring members who intend to live, work and travel with us on our adventures.

Bright blessings upon you always,

Dagda Earthsunder
Clan Head and Barber Surgeon
Church of Soulforger / Spiritual Healer

Earthsunder history

Many decades ago the once proud Earthsunder clan owned keeps and forts all across the Brandins.

Reports show that a terrible and destructive war broke out between our ancestors and the dark dwarves who laid claim to the deeps (the reason for this conflict is currently unknown however suggestions of a dispute over land, unpaid debts and even a bad marriage are hinted at in the ancient texts we have recovered so far).

One by one the Earthsunder keeps and forts across the mountains in the Brandins fell and in a last ditch attempt of survival, Daxil Earthsunder who was the last remaining Lord of the clan, ordered his troops to flee into hiding before making his final stand. The battle was long and bloody. Many dark dwarves laid slain at his feet before he finally succumbed to his injuries.

The following dawn his body and his mighty axe ‘Ruin’ were recovered and buried within a hidden tomb and the clan known as Earthsunder disbanded and merged into minor families and houses only just managing to survive forgetting their past triumphs and history.

Many years later, a tomb raiders plot emerged and they intended to ransack the final resting place of Daxil Earthsunder seeking long forgotten riches and artefacts.

By a stroke of luck (and unbeknown to him) an heir emerged within the group tasked with the investigation of the tomb raiders plot and the ghost of Daxil appeared to him as he sat waiting for the thieves to appear. The ghost explained that the time had come for him to take up his axe in order to reform the clan to its former glory.

In the months that have passed since this vision, word has spread and more of the families and houses that once called the Earthsunder clan their own have begun to band together to retake their lands.

Sunsday 26th Noveas IM1017

Upon this date under the guidance of Brother's Dagda and Ingram Lightforge the party succeeded and a new base was established to reform the clan.

Although not the true heir, Dagda, an Armoured Priest of Unity was elected to lead the newly reformed clan while Ingram hid from the lime light. Ingram, interested in the lost legends and stories of the clan Ingram, a Paladin of Unity set about researching the ancient tomes that were within the new clan holds reliquary.

After much study and contemplation, Ingram managed to uncover the locations of many of the lost keeps and forts. Dagda gave permission to send out some scouts to investigate the nearest two locations.

The scouts returned wounded and baring dire news – ‘the two keeps had been taken over by a Dark Cloud Rat Folk and they had no intention of handing it over freely’. Now with no other recourse, Ingram gathered the clan and a plan was set in motion to reclaim these first keeps.

Sunsday 4th Martius IM1018

Upon this date a party was assembled and they were kindly assisted by High Priest Ashalan vo Moradin who was acting as an Advisor. It’s worth mentioning that due to the injuries of the Scouts, it was decided that Ingram would remain behind to deal with their injuries and to cure them of a persistent and virulent disease they had been inflicted with following their encounter with the rat folk.

The mission was a success but not without a loss of life. Gilmore, a new member of the clan was cruelly slain by a Rat Folk who viciously and cowardly attacked him from behind but luckily Dagda was able to resurrect him back to full health before the day was finished.

The Rat Folk proved to be a formidable foe having been long established in the abandoned fort. They had stripped the armour and weapons from long deceased dwarfs found within the fort from the original battle with the dark dwarfs and had secured the assistance of a vampire and even a skeletal knight.

The group, during the battle came across a makeshift prison within which there was a captured dwarf who had been spiritually mastered. Their intention was to use her to spy upon the Earthsunder clan. Outraged by this Dagda immediately released her from the mastery and she was safely guided home back to her family.

Eventually, the Fort was successfully cleared of the Rat Folk following many bloody and hard fought battles. The group then had to deal with the long forgotten defences set in place by the forefathers of the Earthsunder clan. It appears this was done as they had foreseen the demise of the keep and so had set into place a number of measures to protect the contents from the Dark Dwarfs.

Following many puzzles and challenges, four keys were obtained which gave access to a main vault within which was guarded by a formidable Golem. It was protecting a large quantity of dwarf made weapons and armour. When examined these had not dulled with age or rusted despite the long passage of time. This area is now claimed by the Earthsunder clan and may be used by us for future expeditions (Guild Item I).

Interestingly, Ingram’s research has also shown that the second fort already alluded too also contains a similar vault and that within its depths are various texts and scrolls. The intention, once everybody is well rested and in a position to regroup, is to examine this new area and to see whether anything remains within which may be of similar assistance to the clan… in the meantime, preparations are being made to prepare healing scrolls, armour and decent weaponry to assist us in our further expedition…

Starsday 20th Aiprus IM1018

Upon this date the Earthsunder clan and several Soulforger priests gathered as Dagda was previously visited by an old dwarf who gruffly handed him a scroll case instructing him that he would only be able to open and view the contents when 12 dwarfs were gathered in the same place… as such, a group of dwarfs were summoned and the case was opened within which was a prayer to the Soulforger, a note showing the history of all the dwarfs, a list of sigils required to open a place of power for the Soulforger with directions and specific notes on the forging and recovery of Mithril.

With the assistance of Advisors Ashlan, High Priest of Soulforger and Hermish Hashmere of Soulforger the group descended into an ancient mine which eventually led them the an old ruined Soulforger temple which was warded with various sigils.

The journey was not without incident, the party was attacked by various undead, rabid bats, goblins and the ghosts of long dead dwarfs, cursed treasure and undead dwarfs requiring their last rites. Mithril was mined and forged into a large hammer which was ritually used to gain access further into the mine. Sadly however, before the final sigils were uncovered the party were besieged by drowe who had also claimed the site as their home and so they evacuated the area pledging to return to reclaim the site for the Soulforger.

Two notable deaths occurred on this event, namely Dagda and Gilmore who were killed by a cave in caused by too much noise… both were brought back to life by Ashlan and Hermish.

Sunsday 20th Maii IM1018

Upon this date, Earthsunder marched upon the second keep which had been taken over by a large group of Dark Cloud Ratfolk. Upon arrival the clan were besieged by a greenskin horde which had attacked the Ratfolk claiming the site as their own – in clearing the site out we encountered an individual who referred to himself as ‘Nemesis’ a particulary powerful and potent evil greenskin, possibly an Unholy Champion who had surrounded himself with several charms of protection. Once the charms were removed he was vulnerable to attack but right at the final battle he managed to escape… upon returning to the Earthsunder town it transpired that it had been attacked during our absence with the loss of life of many elderly men women and children… Earthsunder is sworn to avenge their deaths and to hunt down the Nemesis…

"Several young children were orphaned as a result of that attack and I will be placing them into good homes over the next couple of weeks - they are all in the Church at the moment and the Soulforger is keeping an eye on em for me keeping them calm... they would appreciate a visit if you are passing anytime soon and some toys if you are able to whittle or make something for them - it doesn't need to be fancy, they will see the effort you have made and would appreciate the gesture - interestingly enough, they're already singing songs about Ingram and how he saved the day and for that I am truly thankful he was able to get back in time."

Dagda

Shortly after seeing all the children to bed the attending priest heard a knock at the door to the Soulforger temple. Shuffling to the door muttering under his breath about the late hour he opened it to find a fairly bulky sack lying on the step. The sack was simple, made of hemp and stamped on the side was an embalm that read GGG. Opening the sack the priest found dozens of mechanical toys and a note written in the fine script of a well practiced hand, the words "A small repayment towards a larger debt... PB" where all that was written there.

Scratching his head wondering what this was all about he proceeded to place a toy at the end of each child's bed, at least they would have something nice in the morning amongst all the chaos and loss of the previous day.

A few days later a dwarf with a purple beard turned up at the temple and offered to take one of the children in, I have no kids of my own and my business is up and running now, I should be able to give him a home and a good start in life. Gladly the priest accepted...

(OOC Gilmore)

Starsday 15th Septus IM1018

Upon this date, clan Earthsunder with priests from Soulforger were summoned to a suitable drinking establishment with instructions to follow from Queenie and the Soulforger himself. Upon arrival it transpired that the pub was dry and instructions were individually left enrolling the party present within the ‘Ironground Academy of the Axe and Anvil’ strictly upon Queenies instructions. It transpired that word had got round about the previous unsuccessful efforts of the church Soulforger and so Queenie thought it appropriate to send us back to school !

With haste we made our way to the Muelosuam Inn on the main roadway just north of the Brandin Mountains where we met with the Grounds Keeper Balebryn Strongaxe who then set us about to acquire equipment, complete tasks and ‘learn’ how to co-operate. The tasks were long and hard and involved amongst other things, fighting giant spiders, making potions, solving numerous puzzles and fighting one on one living statues which increased in size and strength. Regrettably, Ironcore lost his life in one said battle against a mighty foe which he fought valiantly and alone – steadfast in his refusal to back down he showed true grit, bravery and tenacity in dealing with the final formidable foe.

Clan Earthsunder and Church Soulforger were victorious in our pursuit and we look forward to the challenges ahead which Queenie appears to be preparing us for in the long run…

Sunsday 21th Octuar IM1018

The nemesis is dead !

Following a tip off from the clans scouts, the Nemesis was spotted in an old ruin and hunted down - confusingly, Ingram was also captured and what was meant to be a hunt for this known threat quickly turned into a search a rescue effort to recover Ingram. Dagda and the party eventually found themselves within an unholy temple with Ingram chained to a wall - some doubt however had been placed over whether this was actually Ingram and that a complex deception was afoot - following some questioning however, Dagda discovered through his personal knowledge that the Nemesis was a master of disguise and deception - he was eventually captured in a corner and unable to escape fought a tough battle to the bitter end... to be sure of his death, Dagda ordered his head was severed and it now rests on a spike outside the Guild Hall as a warning for any future attacks against the clan - interestingly, the head and capturing of it has provided the clan with some interesting abilities...

Starsday 29th Deeber IM1018

Myself, Bheldar and John saw notices for work requesting mercenary help (with dwarves being particularly welcome.) I brought the strength of our ancestors, Bheldar the strength of his mind and John his sword arm. We were joined by a man from Ishma called Kaspar (he said he was a warrior but didn’t wear chainmail so we think he was a scout), an orc called Donald who had several weapons and spoke regularly with his god, a warrior named Raven whom stood strong against our foes, an ogre called, of all things, Coconut who hit things with what looked like half a tree, and a trio of comrades - Rava (an Alfari Druid of healing), her oathsworn guardian (who’s name escapes me) and Saul a young warrior who also didn’t wear any chain but showed the rest of us how unfit we were!

As a group we were to investigate the red glow - presumed to be fire - emanating from a village to the south east of Scarlene. Our investigations started at a nearby temple of St Michael. It was odd as they had no issue with my ancestors presence and to Bheldar’s senses were of grey aura. Suspecting something amiss, Donald was slightly trigger happy and attacked one of the men in the temple (they were not controlled by spiritual means that I could see.) We soon discovered a stairway down to catacombs beneath the temple. It had a powerful white magic protection that tried to burn away the evil in your soul.

This was bypassed and we found ourselves moving away from Primus - the catacombs has merged slightly with the mittlenacht. Upon some wandering we found an overflowing forge which we calmed and as it had no owner being lost in the nacht, we claimed it for the clan - upon speaking to it with his mind, Bheldar found it was willing to help us forge arms and armour. I’m sure Bheldar and Gillmour will put it to good use! In the forge, however was a portal to a flaming realm. After some divining we discovered that this was the cause of the more frequent flames - demons had been pouring out of it and setting the lands ablaze. We found we had to enter the realm and kill the daemon who owned the realm.

We fought several mittlenach beasts before coming to the daemon plane. Once there, we fought flame Demonds and undead. We found the demon’s tower - it appeared he was draining souls from the nearby village and using them to empoer himself - with a ritual involving a lich. Luckily we divined that he had to be struck with all powers (magic, spirit, mind and mundane) and there was an undead ritual to dismember before he could be harmed. We did so and then fought our way through statues and demons before confronting him ourselves. It was a long fought battle and several fatalities occoured. All stood strong and Rava’s healing was invaluable throughout the day.

At his death his realm collapsed. We revived our pay and Bheldar headed back to his forge to start it up for the first time in many years!

There are many smaller tales to tell - which I will happily do over a mead or seven!

Gavalar Earthsunder
Ancestral Channeller

Starsday 23rd Martius IM1019

It was a perfectly normal evening. In the keep of the Earthsunder clan in the Brandin mountians, the mead and ale was flowing. The dwarves' family was growing and the name of Earthsunder was becoming more and more prominent.

Dagda sat with his fellows, laughing at the stories from Bheldar and Gilmore's day in the forges. Gavalar sat in a corner reading a dusty tome found in one of the many abandoned rooms. Morgain and Sybal were attempting, again, to explain to Grimspell why "that damned fae" was even allowed here. Even Stonetop had placed his hammer aside and was enjoying an flagon of ale.

It was only Ardman who had not picked up a drink due a growing feeling of unease. Maybe it was that Astro was here, but they'd enjoyed the fairy's company before, so it wasn't likely that. As the hairs on the back of his neck all raised, and goosebumps ran across his arms, he gave a warning shout.

The reaction was instantaneous. Axes and swords were drawn, ranks formed and spells and miracles prepared. Those who could sense such things felt the door to the netherworld open as Gavalar called an ancestor to his form. Then they felt something else. One of the walls of the keep simply faded away, as if it had never been there (Astro and Grimspell felt a wash of magic) and after a heartbeat, the bodies came.

They were slow and cumbersome, but the sheer number of them kept the Dwarves busy. John, Morgrain, Ardman and Stonetop stood side by side, blades flashing and shields brought to bear, their wounds closing due to Dagda's called prayers to the Soulforger. Grimspell used the power of earth to wall of several, before Gavalar and Behldar walked through said wall to dispose of the foe. As soon as it began, it was over.

Every time Grimspell tried to rebuild the wall that had faded, his magic seeped away. Ardman looked at the passageway with his trained eye, and announced "This has always been here....it leads to ancient passageways from our keep..."

After tending to the wounded with Sybal, Dagda ordered a guard to be posted and any who were able to travel were to gather their things and be ready to move in a few days. Gavalar took him aside - "I cannot go down there, brother, the ancestors are so angry I cannot travel there. They say the Duregar have returned..."

So it was, a party led by Dagda descended down into the new caves which had appeared beneath the new Earthsunder Guild Hall. The party encountered many undead Duregar, which had been raised using the bodies of the Eathsunder clan by a nefarious new brown magic group who sought to usurp the clan from its rightful place. The battles were fierce and bloody, many life's were lost and perversely the new group had cast a ritual which reversed the appearance of the legitimate dwarfs making them look like Duregar !

In the end the ritual was removed, order restored and the Guild Hall restored to its former glory... of note however a new wing of crypts remained underneath the Guild Hall - the first of these was given to Astro who has died several times in the past for the clan despite not being a dwarf himself - such loyalty was not unnoticed and it was not a difficult decision for Dagda to make... as this was presented to Astro, Dadga said dabbing his eyes and complaining about dust...'Astro laddy, when the time comes, you may rest amongst my kin, in all but appearance, you are a fine, fine dwarf......'

Sunsday 16th Juon IM1019

A gathering had taken place of members of the Soulforgers Church cellbrating the day now dedicated to the Allfather.

While chatting, a church historian, Citrine visited us and made us aware that he had uncovered the locations of two mines which had long been abandoned and he suggested that we visited these and reclaimed them back for the Soulforger - the mines were quite far apart and not connected in anyway other than they were mentioned in dusty books as once belonging to our kin and that they contained decades worth of ore and gems.

We agreed to undertake the endeavour and visited the first mine which was - we found out claimed by a bunch of Duregar ! The enemy of the Soulforger ! As such we set about clearing the areas bit by bit and eventually found ourselves facing puzzles and searching for three keys to open the inner areas of the mines. Problem solved, behind the doors was a mighty warrior who was impervious to our weapons and as such our church leader and his son, Hermish went into the room.... there they both died.... Ashlan from being possessed by a zombie and walking beyond his creation point and Hermish (despite being a fiend with numbers) overcast on his spirits..... well, what a holy day this was turning out to be ! Needless to say, following this they were resurrected and spoke about their brief visits to the Allfather and he gave them both sage advice on trying to improve their abilities ! Evntually, the mine was cleared and the final chamber was knee deep in gems and precious stones - without hesitation this was claimed for the faith.

The second mine we visited was within a baking hot jungle - we soon discovered that this had been claimed by local tribals and was guarded by Trolls - not any ordinary Trolls, these were intelligent and we were able to negotiate admittance. Inside, we found that the caves and area had been taken over by Black Orcs, Ogres and Goblins all of whom had recently fled the fighting at Rivers End. The caves were full of the old, wounded and very young and they were tired, injured and hungry - the sight was pitiful and we had to do something to help ! Ashlan, Hermish and Dagda set about negotiating a deal with the tribals permitting access to the mines in return for aid by way of supplies, medicine, food and weapons which was readily accepted by them. Presently, Hermish is in possession of the mine and overseeing the running of it - there is a portal which now connects the mine directly to the Brekkons allowing free access to the mines themselves and in order for us to deliver the aid they so desperately require.

Sunsday 7th Jurrle IM1019

'For whatever reason, you all found yourselves on a ship called The Hopeful Maid, sailing down the coast towards Scarlene.

The Hopeful Maid isn't really a big ocean going vessel, but more of a coastal lugger.

Captain Fitztral, a devout Talthari, sails down the Alg and south along the coastline to Scarlene and then back home again.

Last night however, an unseasonal storm blew up and the skipper decided to take shelter in the harbour of the small coastal town of Mudwich.

He said he hoped the storm would blow over in a day or two and waiting out from the inside of a tavern would be much more comfortable.

You spent a pleasant night at The Pointless Ferret Tavern.

Partway through the evening, a man was asking around in the tavern, looking for mercenaries. He said the local lord, Lord Otelin Narvus (his boss) was hiring and would have work for you in the morning if you were still in town and interested.

Come the morning, the weather is still foul and Captain Fitztral declares he's no plan to set sail today. You're sure the way he's clutching his head is entirely unconnected to that judgement call'

Both Dadga and Balegar accepted this hire finding themselves up against angry halflings, cruel witches, mad goblins and irrate druids. A map was slowly gathered and delicately, the local Lords Narvus's problems dealt with... the land had been poisened by a local witch who had the power to summon more than normally powerful scarecrows... thus uncovered the matter was left to deal with her at another time...

Airsday 13th Orgus IM1019

World whispers...

'Bheldar was declared keeper of the forge of the Sharmyn dynasty. A site below ground, lost for centuries and brimming with the power of the gods themselves, the bellows stoked the furnaces once more, and dwarvenkind flocked from miles around to test their skills in the fires.

Bheldar looked upon this and was pleased. There was work to be done, and a very specific axe to be remade... '

Starsday 3rd Noveas IM1019

Dagda visits the halls of St Michael...

Upon entering Dagda clears his throat and straightens out his blood smeared tabard of the Soulforger apologising for his state of dress - he explains to you he is a Spiritual Healer of the Soulforger Faith and currently the Thane of Earthsunder. He informs you with sadness that during the battle for the artefact required to destroy Ruin, several dwarfs were slain in battle but mercifully he was able to restore them back to life...

'Having gained all of the required pieces of the deceased St Michaels Arch Angel we managed to restore these back into a workable fashion with the help of Gilmore, our resident Blacksmith and the channelling of a lot of ritual and healing powers into the item we then assembled... thus completed, an Arch Angel of St Michael appeared and he spoke to us briefly about what had occurred... I spoke at length to him and it transpired he was not the Arch Angel himself but more of an echo of whom he once was... this may make what was to become of him more palatable but it has shaken me to my core and if I am honest put me off my cups...

The Arch Angel explained to me that his name was 'Biliby' (the correct spelling of his name however, not 'Bilaby' how Gilmore has spelt it in his letter /rolls eyes) and that he was connected to a group known as the 'Cleansing Flow'. He informed me that it was 'the power of St Michael and the Creator himself which has to be used to make the axe anew'

He explained that the creatures which had taken charge of the pieces required to assemble him were 'black, spiky, skinny demons with very sharp claws'
He described their motivations to 'clearly seeking and hunting and damaging the faith of St Michael - but not the land - their only and main motivation was in destroying the power of your faith'

He informed me that these demons had appeared in the areas around him through various portals and tears in the reality particularly in various weak spots of the Baronies.

Biliby then spoke to your God and it is with great regret he informed me that in order to empower the axe you so desperately need he had to die again and his essence fused with the artefact which Gilmore now has in his possession

It transpires that the axe you will now be able to empower is the only item which will be able to inflict damage upon some of the more powerful demons you will encounter - without this axe, your mission despite how hard you tried would have ended in failure and the whole of Primus would have been under threat - I suggest that such an item therefore is strategically placed within your group in order to make sure you have it in the right place at the right time and this may be something you may wish to commune about on the day of the great battle ahead.

I asked him to check first to see whether there was any other way and he confirmed that there was not... so eventually he was slain again which was his final command to us in order to empower the axe - this was done as swiftly as possible and he didn't suffer in the end... if there was any other way that this could have been done then I would have chosen it - the valiant and brave death of such a majestic creature of the light will sit with me for the rest of my days as a shining example of true dedication and martyrdom.

I asked if he had any final requests and whether he would like me to pass on any messages to any loved ones and his final wish was 'those affiliated to St Michael must better understand the nature of sacrifice and that you remember his name'

So laddy, before I leave I have some additional information for you which may assist you in the battles ahead.

Obviously, being a spiritual healer of the Soulforger, I treated the wounds to my kin and have a little insight into what damage was inflicted upon us on this holy mission. This may be of little use to you and a one off, but it stands to reason that the creatures we battled you will encounter again in ever increasing numbers and strength so it's only fair to give you a warning about what damage they were inflicting upon us...

Dagda then goes on to explain the following...

OOC - one demon had a 36/6 touch effect which is black/evil spirit in origin. Immunity to 'Insanity' would have given half this effect. Another demon would send players into the 'void' which also had the effect of divine 36/6 damage every 30 seconds and your alignment is pulled one way towards Chaotic - again - immunity to Insanity gave half effect to this. There was some mention of demons having the effects of a ward breach when struck but luckily we didn't encounter these. One of our battle priests specialised in Runes and hitting some of the larger mobs on our run with an Insanity Rune empowered mace ironically wiped a lot of them out in one blow. Finally, there was quite a few dying effects on fairly simple dismiss only undead - at one point this wiped out half the party

... at the end of telling you this he hangs around to see if you have any further questions before he shakes you warmly by the hand and 'Word of Recalls' back to his humble church in the Brandins desperate to prepare the defences of his clan in case the worst happens in the battle against Ruin...


ᛖᚫᚱᛄᛋᚢᚾᛗᛖᚱ ᛖᚫᚱᛄᛋᚢᚾᛗᛖᚱ ᛖᚫᚱᛄᛋᚢᚾᛗᛖᚱ


--------------------
James Pink

"“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it”"

Soul Forger : Dagda Sonnlinor 3900 points
Soul Forger : Emdar Deepfinder Paladin 1500 points
Earthsunder : Blackthorn Druid 500 points
The Hovel : Cain, Witch 1195 points
Church of Iron & Empire : Joram Blacksmith 7k
Church of Iron & Empire / 18th Legion : Blackstones Black Unholy Champion 2k
Shaehan : Luke 2400 points
Roarke 5k
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